Second Nepali student found dead at KIIT in 3 months, police suspect suicide

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 incident involving a Nepali student in less than three months.

According to Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S Devdutt Singh, the student was pursuing a computer science degree and hailed from the Birgunj area of Nepal. The initial suspicion is suicide, but police have yet to determine the cause or circumstances behind the incident. A probe is currently underway.

This latest death comes months after another 20-year-old Nepali student at the same university died by suicide in February. That case sparked widespread outrage after it emerged that the student had allegedly been blackmailed by a classmate. The controversy escalated after faculty members were accused of making racial and demeaning remarks against Nepali students.

In that case, the accused student, Advik Shrivastava, was arrested while allegedly attempting to flee from the Bhubaneswar airport. The university faced severe backlash for its handling of the incident, especially after over 1,000 Nepali students were ordered to vacate the campus. The Ministry of External Affairs intervened, prompting the university to issue an apology and initiate damage control measures.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which investigated the February case, held KIIT accountable for the series of events that led to the student’s suicide. It said the victim was sexually harassed by the accused and that the university’s International Relations Office failed to act, thereby violating her rights to dignity and equality.

A high-powered committee formed by the Odisha government, led by the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), is also investigating allegations of misconduct by university officials, including the use of force on February 16 and 17. The report is still pending.