BHUBANESWAR: A female undergraduate student from Nepal allegedly died by suicide in her hostel room in Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) on Thursday, the second such case in less than three months.
The victim was 18-years-old and was a first year student of computer science engineering, Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena told TNIE. The DCP said they have launched a thorough investigation to ascertain the reason behind the girl's decision to end her life.
Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh, DCP Meena and other senior officers visited the spot to take stock of the investigation.
The death on the campus comes less than three months after a 20-year-old Nepali student, also studying computer science, died by suicide after being harassed by a fellow student.
The accused, Advik Shrivastava, a third-year B Tech student was later arrested by Bhubaneswar police at the city airport while he was allegedly trying to flee.
The university came under criticism for its handling of the situation after officials ordered more than 1,000 Nepali students to vacate the campus. Following intervention by the External Affairs Ministry, the university shifted to damage-control mode and issued formal apologies.
The Odisha government had then constituted a high-level fact-finding committee to investigate the student death, as well as allegations of excessive force by university security personnel.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)