- By Priyanka Koul
- Thu, 01 May 2025 11:09 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A Nepali undergraduate student was found dead in her hostel room at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) on Thursday evening, marking the second such case in less than three months.
In a statement to The Times of India, Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh confirmed that the death was a suicide and ruled out any foul play. “The girl student from Nepal died by suicide within her campus hostel. We are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding her death,” Singh said.
The student was enrolled in a Computer Science programme and was originally from Birgunj, Nepal. After being informed of the incident, police officials visited the KIIT campus and began inquiries into the circumstances of her death.
This tragic case comes just weeks after a similar incident where another 20-year-old Nepali student, also studying Computer Science, died by suicide. That earlier case drew significant attention after reports emerged that she was allegedly blackmailed by a fellow student. It later escalated into a major controversy involving accusations of discriminatory and degrading remarks made by university staff towards Nepali students.
The accused in the earlier case, identified as Advik Shrivastava, a third-year B.Tech student was arrested at the Bhubaneswar airport while allegedly attempting to flee. The university faced strong backlash, particularly after reports surfaced that over 1,000 Nepali students were asked to vacate the campus following the incident. This prompted the intervention of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, after which the university took steps to manage the fallout and issued formal apologies.
An investigation by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held KIIT accountable, stating that the victim had faced sexual harassment and that the university’s failure to respond appropriately, particularly by its International Relations Office had violated her fundamental rights and contributed to her death.
In response to the controversy, the Odisha government had set up a high-level committee led by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to examine allegations of misconduct and alleged use of force by KIIT staff on students during protests on February 16 and 17. However, the committee has not yet released its findings.