Tension in Odisha varsity as Nepal student commits suicide; KP Sharma Oli takes note

Amid the controversy related to the suicide of a Nepali female student and subsequent issuance of eviction directions to the students hailing from Nepal, the Higher Education Minister of Odisha Suryabanshi Suraj on Monday said that following the intervention of state government, the private university authorities have revoked the order and appealed to the Nepali students to return to the campus and resume their studies.

The incident and the eventual furore caught the attention of the government of Nepal, which took the matter seriously and started diplomatic initiatives to ensure the safety and well-being of Nepali students.

"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,” said Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli.

Meanwhile, calling the forceful eviction of students an unfortunate incident, Suraj told the mediapersons that the Odisha government has sent special buses of the state-owned Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) to the railway station in Cuttack and other places in order to bring back the Nepal-origin students to the University in Bhubaneswar.

“India has a deep relationship with Nepal. Odisha too has a long-standing relationship with Nepal through Lord Jagannath. Whatever occurred in Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) is very tragic, and we are expressing our condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased student,” said Suraj.

The minister also noted that the state government is taking all steps to ensure that the students don’t face any harassment by the university authorities in future as well.

He said that the state home department immediately swung into action after the incident came to notice and ensured the arrest of the accused.

Police have started an investigation into the case, seizing the accused's diary, laptop, mobile, etc.

Police sources revealed that the accused student who originally belongs to Uttar Pradesh was on Monday arrested from the Bhubaneswar Airport while he was trying to flee the city.

"There was an unfortunate incident which took place late in the evening yesterday on the KIIT campus. Immediately after the incident, police investigated the matter and apprehended the culprit. The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy in the campus and hostels to resume academic activities. An appeal is made to all our Nepali students who have or plan to leave the campus to return and resume classes,” said KIIT University.

As per reports, the deceased Prakriti, a student of B.Tech (Computer Science) of KIIT University, had ended her life on Sunday following a fight with her estranged boyfriend and the accused Advik Shrivastava, a student of B.Tech (Mechanical).

Later, students of Nepali origin staged a demonstration on Sunday night.

Police tried to assuage the protesting students, but in vain. The students also continued the protest staging a road blockade at the private university on Monday morning as well.

This enraged university authorities, who issued a sine die order asking the Nepali students to the campus immediately, left them in a precarious situation.

Some students were also forcefully taken to the railway station in Cuttack on university buses. Some videos also went viral showing university authorities allegedly engaging in verbal spats with Nepali students and asking them to leave the campus immediately.