Odisha: Nepalese Student’s Suicide at KIIT Sparks Protests and Diplomatic Tensions

Bhubaneswar, 18th February 2025: A tragic incident at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) has stirred controversy, following the suicide of a 20-year-old Nepalese BTech student, allegedly due to campus harassment. The incident escalated into a diplomatic issue, with Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli accusing the Indian authorities of “forced eviction” of protesting Nepalese students and calling for immediate intervention from the Indian government.

The student, a third-year BTech student from Nepal, was found dead in her hostel room on the evening of February 19. A 21-year-old student from Lucknow has been arrested for allegedly harassing the victim, leading to her tragic decision to take her own life.

In a post on Facebook, Prime Minister Oli expressed concern, stating, “It has come to our attention that a Nepali student has died in the hostel… and that Nepali students have been forcibly evicted from the hostel. The government is working on this matter through diplomatic channels and is in contact with the relevant authorities.”

Oli also took to the microblogging platform X to provide updates, revealing that the Nepalese embassy had dispatched two officials to Bhubaneswar to support the affected Nepalese students. He added, “Arrangements have been made to ensure students have the option to either remain in their hostel or return home, based on their preference.”

Following these developments, the Odisha government instructed KIIT to allow Nepalese students back onto the campus. The university responded by issuing a statement, assuring that all necessary efforts were being made to restore normalcy on campus and resume academic activities. “An appeal is made to all our Nepali students who have or plan to leave the campus to return,” the statement read.

Earlier on Monday, numerous Nepalese students staged protests, accusing the university of ignoring the victim’s harassment complaints. The protests quickly turned violent, with videos circulating showing clashes between campus security and the protesting students. KIIT took the decision to shut down the campus “sine die” for Nepalese students, asking them to vacate the hostels immediately.

One of the protesting students at Cuttack railway station shared the confusion and urgency surrounding the situation. “We were told to vacate our rooms and were dropped off at the railway station. We have an exam on February 28,” the student said.

Odisha’s higher education minister, Suryabanshi Suraj, stated that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had instructed authorities to handle the matter with “utmost seriousness” due to the importance of India-Nepal relations.