Odisha: Human Rights Commission orders probe into death of Nepali student at KIIT, seeks report by march 10

The National Human Rights Commission has become strict in the case of the death of a Nepali student at KIIT university in Odisha. In the case, the National Human Rights Commission has directed its officials to go on the spot and investigate and submit its report onitby march 10.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered an on-the-spot investigation into the death of a Nepali student at KIIT university in odisha and has asked its officials to submit the report by march 10. The NHRC issued this order while acting on a complaint, which stated that the 20-year-old student allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room on february 16. The Commission said that the investigation should be done by the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

The commission's order said, 'Considering the gravity of the matter, the Commission directs the Registrar (Law) to proceed with the investigation at KIIT university, Bhubaneswar, along with a team consisting of two officers of the Investigation Division, one not below the rank of SSP and one officer/employee from the Law Division, to conduct a spot investigation and submit its investigation report to the Commission by march 10, 2025.'

The complainant Ashutosh B in his petition alleged that the Nepali student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial technology (KIIT) university had data-faced harassment from her ex-boyfriend and the international Relations office (IRO) of the university ignored her complaints, which led to her tragic suicide. The complainant also claimed that the protests by Nepali students demanding justice in the incident were met with verbal abuse, threats, and physical assault from KIIT officials and security guards. The petitioner also urged the commission to take action against KIIT officials, including founder Achyuta Samant, for 'failure to address complaints of harassment and their involvement in the exploitation of tribal students'.

Let us tell you that a third-year computer science student at KIIT was found dead in the university hostel room on the evening of february 16. The police arrested an engineering student of the university for abetting her suicide and he has now been in judicial custody since february 17. At the same time, ten KIIT employees were arrested in this case for physically assaulting Nepali students, verbal abuse, and evicting them from the hostel for protesting and demanding justice for the student's suicide. KIIT officials apologized for this incident.

In this case, the state government has constituted a high-level committee to investigate the KIIT incident. The odisha government and KIIT officials have urged Nepali students to return to the campus and join studies with the assurance of safety and respect. Earlier, the Nepali NHRC had also urged its indian counterpart to look into the matter, demanding a detailed investigation.