Nepali student death case: Odisha govt summons KIIT officials

KIIT students protest over Nepali student’s death. Pic/PTI

Expediting its inquiry, the Odisha government summoned four more KIIT officials to depose before the high-level committee probing the alleged death by suicide of 20-year-old Nepali BTech student Prakriti Lamsal and the subsequent unrest on the campus.

The Higher Education Department summoned Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology's (KIIT) chief proctor PK Patnaik, Director Sanhita Mishra, Internal Committee chief Ipsita Satpathy and Assistant Director Smarika Pati.

They were asked to appear before the panel headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu on February 27, separate notifications said on Tuesday. Earlier, on February 21, KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta and seven other top officials of the varsity had appeared before the panel and recorded their statements.

They were asked why notices were issued only to Nepali students to leave the hostel and why the institution failed to act on the harassment complaint filed by the deceased girl for over a month. Samanta and others were also questioned about the alleged racial abuses directed at the Nepali students, an official said.

The state government on February 18 constituted a high-level committee which has been mandated to ascertain the circumstances leading to the alleged suicide and alleged high-handed action by the varsity authorities.

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