KIIT Row: Nepalese Students Return; Allege Abuses From Institution
Odisha’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology is on boil as at least 159 students have returned to their homes in Nepal, alleging inhumane treatment by the university management. The students had claimed that the university officials targeted them for protesting the death of a Nepali student, who allegedly died by suicide on the campus on February 16.
The Odisha government on Saturday assured that all those responsible for the death of the Nepali female student in the university will be held accountable after a protest erupted against the university management. Youth and student activists of Congress had staged a demonstration, demanding the immediate arrest of KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta. A Congress MLA had a judicial inquiry into the death of the student and the alleged attack on Nepali students on the campus while speaking in the state assembly.
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News agency PTI quoted Nepali students saying that they were subjected to inhumane treatment and abuse. They were also beaten up by security guards in the presence of university teachers and other staff and asked to vacate the hostel immediately, the agency reported.
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The student of the third-year Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science died by suicide after facing suspected harassment from a male batchmate on the campus. The Bhubaneswar Police had arrested a 21-year-old boy from Lucknow in connection with the alleged suicide, and he was reportedly blackmailing the girl.
However, the issue turned more vivid when the university authorities allegedly mishandled the protest held by Nepali students over the victim. At least 500 Nepali students at the university claimed that they had been forcibly evicted from campus and the campus was closed for Nepali students, instructing them to vacate immediately.
Notably, after diplomatic intervention from Kathmandu to New Delhi, the order asking the student to vacate the campus was revoked, and the campus claimed it requested the students to return to the campus. Nepali Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba also said that her government had resolved the issue about the death of the Nepali student through diplomatic channels.
Odisha’s Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said that the state government was committed to taking stringent action in the KIIT incidents. He said that the government would take action after the high-level committee set to investigate the incident reports its findings on the issue. The Odisha government had set up the committee spearheaded by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu to investigate the circumstances of the death of the student, the alleged misconduct by the university administration, and the reasons for the institute to have directed Nepali students to vacate the campus.
He further noted that the police are also probing the matter, and at least 10 people, including bouncers, security guards, and other officials of the institute, have been arrested so far. One person has been arrested on the charge of abetment to suicide in connection with the death of a girl.
