 "Students hold placards during a protest over the death of a Nepali student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), in Bhubaneswar, Tuesday, February 18, 2025. PTI")
The suicide of a 20-year-old student at Odisha’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) has rocked Nepal’s Parliament, with calls for justice and strong action against the culprits.
Opposition Nepali lawmakers have called for diplomatic and political initiatives to ensure the safety of its students in India and have further expressed outrage over “racist” remarks made by some Bhubaneswar university staff members against protesting students.
The Nepal government also stated that it may stop issuing no objection certificates (NOCs) to students who wish to study in Odisha if the matter is not resolved justifiably and legally.
This comes after police arrested five individuals, including two security guards and three senior KIIT employees, for allegedly assaulting the agitated students on Monday.
Let’s take a closer look.
Outrage in Nepal’s Parliament over KIIT suicide row
Lawmakers in both houses of the federal parliament in Nepal on Tuesday raised concerns over the death of Nepali national Prakriti Lamsal , a third-year computer science student in KIIT, Odisha, demanding diplomatic efforts for proper security.
Addressing house sessions of both assemblies, lawmakers urged the government to immediately start diplomatic and political initiatives to ensure the safety of Nepalese students studying in India.
“Prakriti Lamsal’s mysterious death while staying in Odisha, India, in the course of studies has sent shockwaves across Nepal, communities and studies. Fair and factual investigation is required over this issue. We have received reports that students are facing enormous pressure," Chabilal Bishwokarma, lawmaker from the ruling CPN-UML said on Tuesday.
Madhav Sapkota, a lawmaker from the opposition CPN-Maoist Centre, demanded a high-level political dialogue with the Indian authorities.
Other members of Nepal’s lower house—the House of Representatives—Dhruva Bahadur Pradhan and Thakur Gaire also demanded the investigation surrounding the death of the Nepalese student in India. Lawmakers Renu Chand, Rukmini Koirala, and Bishnukumar Sapkota all expressed similar views.
The National Assembly also raised concerns over Lamsal’s mysterious death in India and called for urgent action to ensure the safety of Nepali students studying in India.
An impartial, free and fair investigation into the issue and granting her justice and attention from the Government of Nepal is hereby called for to make all possible diplomatic efforts,” National Assembly Chairperson Narayan Dahal said.
Nepal threatens to stop sending students to Odisha
The Nepal government on Tuesday said that it may stop issuing no objection certificates to students who wish to study in institutes in Odisha if the situation arising from the death of a student at a Bhubaneswar university is not resolved in a “justifiable and legal way,” according to PTI.
The neighbouring country’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology also called upon the guardians and students of the university to have patience and assured that it has formed a help desk to facilitate the effective resolution of the problems arising from the incident.
“The ministry is continuously making diplomatic efforts through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure a conducive environment for resuming the studies of Nepalese students,” the statement said.
The Nepalese Foreign Ministry also said it regularly monitors the situation and is continuously in touch with the Nepalese embassy in New Delhi, the Odisha government and KIIT to resolve the issue.
“The KIIT has apologised for the mistreatment done to the Nepalese students in the college, taken necessary action against those responsible and asked the Nepalese students to return to the hostels and resume their studies," the ministry said.
The ministry added that two Nepal embassy officials have also reached Bhubaneswar to discuss the issue with the local administration, police and agitating students.
Protests at KIIT in Bhubaneswar
Lamsal’s suicide triggered protests by students, many of them from Nepal.
The students blocked the road near KIIT, alleging that the authorities failed to take any action when Lamsal approached the institute’s International Relations Office (IRO) to complain about the harassment by her batchmate.
As protests at the university escalated, the institute ordered Nepali students to return home. They were filled into two buses and dropped at Cuttack Railway station on Tuesday (February 18).
In a video, a university authority is seen saying that they are feeding “40,000 students for free”, which is more than “the budget” of Nepal, reports ThePrint. Firstpost could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
A notice shared on social media said that KIIT University said that it “is closed Sine Dine for all international students from Nepal. They are hereby directed to vacate the university campus immediately today on 17th February 2025.”
However, the institute later appealed to all Nepali students to “return to the campus and resume classes." “The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy in the campus and hostels to resume the academic activities,” it said.
The U-turn came after the Nepal government’s intervention.
Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said on Monday, “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.”
Action taken
A three-person fact-finding commission, led by Additional Chief Secretary Home Satyabrata Sahu, was formed by the Odisha government on Tuesday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide.
The panel will also investigate the incident’s other aspects, including the alleged highhandedness of the university’s administration and the reasons for evicting the Nepali students, according to The Indian Express.
“Appropriate legal and administrative action shall follow based on the findings of the fact-finding committee,” said Higher Education Minister Suryavanshi Suraj.
The KIIT staff members Sibananda Mishra, Pratap Kumar Champaty, and Sudhir Kumar Rath have been taken into custody by the Infocity Police, along with security guards Ramakaant Nayak and Jogendra Behera. All five were charged under BNS Sections 115 (2) (causing hurt to any person), 126 (2) (wrongful restraint), 296 (obscene act) and 3 (5) (common intention).
The two security guards who were seen on camera assaulting protesting Nepali students were fired by the university, while two hostel officials were suspended.
It also seems likely that the state government will be seeking the KIIT authorities to explain the actions taken against the two women staff members who made derogatory remarks about those students.
“The incident has hit the state’s reputation. The government has taken cognizance of the matter and will ask KIIT authorities to act against all officials,” a senior government official told The Indian Express.
Additionally, it suspended an administrative officer from the university’s International Relations Office (IRO), where Lamsal had complained the “misbehaviour” of her Lucknow-based batchmate, Advik Srivastava.
The 21-year-old was taken into custody on Sunday on charges of aiding and abetting suicide.
KIIT has also set up a 24/7 control room to assist Nepali students returning.
The suicide
Prakriti Lamsal (20), who was pursuing her BTech in computer science at KIIT University, was found dead in her hostel room on Sunday.
According to several social media posts, she was allegedly being harassed by her former partner.
Her cousin Siddhant Sigdel on Sunday evening filed a police complaint alleging that the woman was being blackmailed by a male student at the university, which led her to hang herself.
“The police team immediately visited the spot and seized the body. Our scientific team has collected her laptop and phone as demanded by the agitating student,” Bhubaneswar Deputy Commission of Police Pinak Mishra said.
The father of the student, Sunil Lamsal, was quoted by The Indian Express, “We sent our daughter for higher education but this unfortunate incident happened here. We have full faith in the state government and police administration that they will give justice to our daughter. I just hope such things do not happen to anyone else in the future.”
The post-mortem of the student was conducted at AIIMS in Bhubaneswar.