NHRC team to visit Odisha’s KIIT over Nepali girl student’s death

Highlights

An NHRC team will visit Odisha’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) to investigate the alleged suicide of a Nepali girl student due to harassment by her ex-boyfriend that was ignored by the college staff despite repeated complaints, a representative of the rights panel said on Tuesday.

New Delhi: An NHRC team will visit Odisha’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) to investigate the alleged suicide of a Nepali girl student due to harassment by her ex-boyfriend that was ignored by the college staff despite repeated complaints, a representative of the rights panel said on Tuesday.

The commission has taken note of a complaint filed by Kalinga Rights Forum over the incident and formed a probe team, said NHRC Member Priyank Kanoongo.

The investigating team will verify if the student died due to suicide and her colleagues were ill-treated by the authorities when they tried to complain about the incident, said an NHRC official.

In a message on a social media platform, the complainant Forum alleged that KIIT failed to act on complaints of the Nepali girl student who was facing alleged harassment on the campus.

The deceased, Prakriti, a third-year B. Tech (Computer Science) student from Nepal, was found dead in her hostel room on February 16. While police initially registered the case as a suicide, the circumstances surrounding her death sparked protests on campus.

In the aftermath of the incident, several Nepali students fled the KIIT campus. However, later, over 150 students returned, with many re-entering India through the Raxaul border in Bihar.

The girl’s death under suspicious circumstances sparked a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Kathmandu, prompting Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to speak to Nepal's Foreign Minister, Dr Arzu Rana Deuba, and assuring strict action against those responsible.

The call followed reports that the college administration had ordered Nepali students to vacate the hostel over their protests after the incident.

During the discussion, Dr Deuba called for a fair and transparent investigation into the death of the student, identified as Prakriti Lamsal, and urged the Odisha government to ensure justice.

In response, CM Majhi reaffirmed the Odisha government's commitment to safeguarding the well-being of all students.

"Nepali students are like our own children. They will study here with full dignity and security," Majhi stated, adding that the government is closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary measures to rebuild trust among students.