BHUBANESWAR: A 20-year-old Nepali student’s suicide after allegedly being harassed by a fellow student on Sunday evening sparked tension at KIIT University here while drawing intervention from the government of the former’s country.
While students held campus-wide protests which threatened to spill out of control, the university on Monday morning asked the international students from the neighbouring country to vacate the campus but revoked the decision later in the day as it invited diplomatic intervention by Nepal.
Expressing concern on the matter, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli took to social media to inform that two officers from the country’s Embassy in New Delhi were dispatched to Odisha to look into it.
The victim, a third year B Tech student, ended her life by hanging at about 4.30 pm on Sunday when her roommates were away to attend the university’s annual fest. The incident led to outrage among other students from Nepal who launched a strong protest.
The students alleged that the victim had earlier reached out to the international relations office of the university and reported the abuse but no action was taken. They alleged the authorities asked them to vacate the hostels and dropped them off at Cuttack railway station without any support to travel back home. There are about 500 Nepali students studying in KIIT.
As the matter grabbed attention, a post on Nepal Prime Minister’s official Facebook page said his government was working on the issue through diplomatic channels. “Our Embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students affected in Odisha. Additionally, arrangements have been made to ensure they have the option to either remain in their hostel or return home, based on their preference,” Oli’s post on X stated.
With the issue ballooning into a huge controversy, the KIIT authorities issued a fresh notice in the evening saying, “Students from Nepal who wish to continue to stay in the hostels are allowed to do so. The university authorities are encouraging the students to stay in the campus.” In the notice, the university said alternative arrangements for classes will be made once the Nepali students, who have left, return to the campus.
Accused was harassing girl for mths: Cops
State Higher Education minister Suraj Suryabanshi termed the sine die closure decision of the private university as unfortunate. “The state government is seized of the matter and coordinating with the external affairs ministry. The accused has been arrested,” he told mediapersons.
Earlier on Sunday, the girl’s cousin, a third-year B Tech student of the university, lodged a complaint with Infocity police station in Bhubaneswar in the connection. In his complaint, he mentioned the accused was blackmailing his sister which forced her to take the extreme step. The accused was later nabbed by police from Bhubaneswar airport. A case under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the BNS was registered against him.
The accused had reportedly captured the victim’s objectionable photos and videos without her knowledge and was harassing her since the last few months, police said. Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra said, police immediately visited the spot. The accused was arrested, a mobile phone and laptop were seized from his possession, he added.
KIIT University’s registrar Gyana Ranjan Mohanty expressed grief over the death of the student and attributed it to personal differences with her male friend. “The girl possibly ended her life over some personal dispute with her male friend. Other students from Nepal studying here were agitated but the authorities managed to pacify them and many have left for their homes,” he said.
Director public relations Shradhanjali Nayak refuted allegations that Nepali students were compelled to vacate hostels and forcibly dropped at Cuttack railway station. Those who wanted to stay back in the hostels were allowed to do so, she said.