In Bhubaneswar, Odisha, a very sad event happened at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University. Prakriti Lamsal, a 20-year-old Nepali student studying computer science, was found dead in her hostel room. The police say her death might be a suicide.
After her death, the police arrested a 21-year-old student named Advik Srivastava. They believe Advik may have been bullying and blackmailing Prakriti. Prakriti’s cousin, Siddhant Sigdel, said that Prakriti had told the university about the bullying, but the university did not help her enough.
Many Nepali students were very upset. Around 500 students protested and said that the university did not take care of them. At first, the university told all Nepali students to leave the campus, but they quickly changed this decision after many people complained. The head of the university apologized, and five staff members, including three senior officials and two security guards, were arrested.
Because this incident is very serious, the government of Nepal sent two officials to Bhubaneswar to make sure Nepali students are safe. The Nepal Embassy in India also talked with KIIT University’s founder, Achyuta Samanta, who explained what the university has done to fix the problem.
Many student groups and leaders have asked the government of Odisha to help make a fair investigation. They want to know how something so sad could happen and ask for better protection for students.
KIIT University says it is working hard to make things normal again. They have asked Nepali students who left to come back and continue their studies. The university promised to work with the police to find out what happened.
This very sad event has made everyone think about how important it is to keep students safe and to listen when they ask for help.
