Nepali girl student found hanging in Bhubaneswar's KIIT hostel, second incident since February

In a second incident since February, a Nepali girl student of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel on Thursday evening.

The girl, who hails from the Birgunj area of Nepal, was studying computer science in the institute. Her identity is yet to be ascertained.

“Yes, the body of a girl from Nepal has been recovered. It seems that she has committed suicide at the ladies' hostel of KIIT,” reported PTI, quoting Police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh.

Her body was recovered from room number 111 of the ladies' hostel of the institute, a senior officer said.

According to Orissa Post, the Police Commissioner said that they have informed the Embassy of Nepal in India about the incident and have shifted the body to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

He added that the parents of the deceased are expected to arrive in Bhubaneswar tomorrow, after which the post-mortem will be conducted.

The scientific team is conducting a search. An unnatural death case has been registered as no complaint has been received, reported Odisha TV.

Three months ago, Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year B Tech (computer science), allegedly died by suicide in her hostel room, leading to unrest on the campus.

While a 21-year-old KIIT student was arrested on charges of abetting the girl’s suicide, five others were booked for their alleged act of abusing and assaulting the students

The Odisha government also constituted a fact-finding committee to determine the circumstances that led to the 20-year-old Nepali girl’s unnatural death in KIIT hostel and what prompted the institute to issue suspension letters to students who were seeking justice.

In March, finding gross negligence on the part of the KIIT authorities over the “suicide”, the NHRC sought an action taken report from the Odisha government, UGC and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) within four weeks.

However, in its petition in court, the KIIT argued that while the NHRC had taken suo motu cognisance of the student’s death on March 3, it proceeded to issue directions on March 27 without notifying or seeking a response from the institution.

In April, a student from KIIT University was found dead in an under-construction building near Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar. The deceased student was identified as Arnab Mukherjee, a native of Bankura, West Bengal. He was pursuing a B Tech degree (third year) at KIIT University and resided in one of the university hostels.