Student’s suicide: Odisha CM assures Nepal officials of speedy justice for deceased girl

 

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday assured officials from Nepal that the state government would ensure speedy justice in the case related to the tragic suicide of a Nepali student Prakriti Samsal at KIIT University on Sunday.

He also gave assurances that soon peace and normalcy would be restored on the campus of the private university in Bhubaneswar.

“Hon’ble Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke with Nepali Counsellors Sanjeeb Das Sharma and Navin Raj Adhikari, assuring them that justice will be served in the case of the deceased KIIT student, Prakriti.

“He also assured that peace and normalcy would be restored on the KIIT campus. The CM urged Nepali students to return to campus and resume their studies,” informed the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Wednesday.

The CMO further revealed that Ministers Mukesh Mahaling and Suryabanshi Suraj, along with Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja held a discussion with the officials from Nepal at the State Guest House here on Wednesday to ensure the restoration of normalcy at KIIT.

The Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, also spoke with the Higher Education Department Minister Suryabanshi Suraj over the phone regarding the matter.

It is pertinent here to mention that the Odisha government on Tuesday constituted a high-level fact-finding committee under Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Home Department along with Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development and Commissioner cum Secretary, Higher Education Department for enquiry into the alleged ill-treatment meted out to other students from the neighbouring country by the authorities of the KIIT University in Bhubaneswar.

The Odisha government has deployed a senior official at the KIIT University to restore normalcy on the campus.

The city police on Tuesday apprehended five staffers of the private university on charges of assaulting the students hailing from Nepal.

Notably, the deceased student Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year B.Tech (Computer Science) student of the KIIT University ended her life on Sunday following harassment by her estranged boyfriend Advik Shrivastava, a student of B.Tech (Mechanical).

Police arrested the accused from Bhubaneswar Airport while he was trying to flee the city on Monday.

Meanwhile, the students who staged a protest demanding justice for the deceased were asked to leave the campus.

The authorities of the private university forcefully evicted the students from the campus and also allegedly assaulted them.

The university after drawing flak from all corners issued an apology letter over the incident and urged the students to return to the campus.

Two senior hostel officials and one senior administrative officer of the International Relations Office of the university have also been suspended pending an enquiry.

–IANS