Protests erupted on the campus of Kalinga Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar, after the alleged suicide of a student from Nepal. Following the protests, the university dropped off Nepali students at various railway stations and asked them to return home.
On February 16, 2025, Prakriti Lamsal, a 20-year-old student of Kalinga Institute of Information Technology, Bhubaneswar, hailing from Nepal, was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room after alleged prolonged assault at the hands of a fellow student, now identified as Advik Shrivastava. She is alleged to have taken her own life while being on a video call with the accused. Following the incident, several Nepali students had blocked the road near the campus, alleging that the university took no action after the students reached out to the International Relations Office at the university. Police officials have claimed it to be a self-evident case of suicide, and Advik Shrivastava, the boy who allegedly played a role in the death of the student, has now been detained following his attempted escape from Bhubaneswar through flight.
The student body has alleged that the victim had suffered continuous abuse at the hands of the detained. Her suicide note, which is now missing, and her phone, now in the custody of the administration, have all important and necessary information regarding it.
As of recently, a video has been circulating on social media featuring the college administration’s response to students from Nepal and their requests for a formal investigation to be launched, with one of the phrases used being, “Pack your bags and leave.”
Source: X
The KIIT management has passed an official order calling for hostels to restrict the movement of students with immediate effect, and students of Nepalese origin have been threatened and beaten into vacating the college premises after having met with hostilities following direct relation to the case. their protests. A notice issued by college authorities read:
The university is closed for all international students from Nepal. They are hereby directed to vacate the university campus today, February 17.
According to reports, on Monday, over 500 Nepali students were asked to board buses, dropped at various railway stations and requested to head home.
Further sources claim that students were allegedly forced to vacate the college campus.
No train tickets or any directions have been provided to us. We were just loaded up on the hostel buses, sent to Cuttack railway station, and ordered to leave for our homes at the earliest. The staff members entered the hostel, made us vacate, and even hit those who were not vacating quickly,” claimed a student from Nepal.
Many anonymous sources have gone on to claim that this was not an incident in isolation, and similar cases of racial discrimination against international students, as well as student suicides and gendered violence, have occurred and have subsequently been brushed under the rug by concerned authorities of the college.
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Aastha Singh
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