By Sidhima Choudhary
The death of a third-year BTech (Computer Science) student Prakriti Lamsal of KIIT by suicide, sparked protests against the institute, leading to the eviction of nearly 500 Nepali students. The institution allegedly suppressed the students who were protesting the incident and removed them from the hostel, which prompted intervention from Nepal’s Prime Minister.
The alleged suicide took place on February 16, when the investigation revealed the allegations that surfaced around the campus. Lamsal claimed to have been harassed and blackmailed by a fellow student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Advik Srivastava (21) hailing from Lucknow.
The incident led to an extensive protest where dozens of students came out at night and started protesting against the college authorities, scrutinizing the careless management of the university in handling harassment complaints. It was further revealed that Lamsal had previously reported Advik’s behaviour to the university’s International Relations Office but no strong action was taken.
The students blocked the roads near the college, alleging the authorities to take action against the accused, highlighting the administration’s recklessness towards the issue.
The issue also raised democratic issues between the two countries where seeing the severity of the issue, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday briefed through X that Nepal’s embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to direct the Nepali students, who were asked to leave the campus with proper arrangements made regarding their stay in hostel or return home, solely on their preferences.
Subsequently, the Nepal embassy expressed their condolences to the family members of Prakriti Lamsel, ensuring the university has expressed its seriousness to the issue and will thereby insist on an impartial investigation regarding the same. The embassy ensured the families of the students that they were in constant contact with KIIT and the Odisha State government.
Whereas, the KIIT administration claimed that the university would put all efforts into resolving the issue and restoring normalcy on the campus and hostel to resume academics again.