KIIT founder apologises to Nepali students; 5 more staffers arrested

Days after the unnatural death of an engineering student from Nepal and the subsequent attack on Nepalese students, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) founder Achyuta Samanta on Thursday (February 20) apologised to the parents and urged the Nepalese students to return to the campus.

Meanwhile, the police too have arrested five more staff members from KIIT for allegedly assaulting the students as they were leaving the campus as instructed.

With this, the number of people arrested in the KIIT fiasco has gone up to 11. It includes an engineering student, who was booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 20-year-old Nepalese woman in her hostel room on Sunday.

After the death of Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year B Tech student at KIIT, the Nepalese students had staged demonstrations demanding justice in the campus. There are around 1,000 Nepali students on the campus. The university authorities clamped down on the protests and evicted the Nepalese students and dropped them at the Cuttack railway station to make their own arrangements to get home.

The apology

The video of Samanta's first public statement on the incident was posted on KIIT's X platform, hours after he was summoned by the Odisha government's high-level committee probing the matter to appear before it on Friday.

Sitting in a gathering of students and two Nepal Embassy officials, Samanta said, "We all are very sorry and saddened over the unfortunate incident that happened on February 16 night. I am also personally feeling sad. We have taken action against some people."

"Your university is running calm and quiet and students are attending classes. We all are happy. A few students from Nepal who are in KIIT are also attending the classes. So, I humbly advise all the KIIT students from Nepal please join your own university and attend classes.

"I want to assure you there will be no harm, regarding academics, campus placement or discipline. I beg apology before the parents of Nepalese students studying at KIIT. My lovable KIITians please come back soon, we are all interested to see you," he said.

Also read: Odisha govt panel summons KIIT founder over Nepali student’s death

Nepalese students assaulted

According to a statement from Infocity Police Station, CCTV footage revealed that five KIIT employees assaulted Nepalese students while they were vacating their hostel rooms on Monday, between 11 am and 12.20 pm.

"The KIIT staff suddenly arrived there and asked them to leave as soon as possible. Seeing that the students were a little late in vacating the hostel, the accused persons suddenly got angry and abused them in incomprehensible language, attacked them and beat them up. As a result, the students immediately fled from the place," the police said.

Judicial custody

The five accused were subsequently presented in court, where their bail petition was denied based on the evidence provided by the police. As a result, they have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

Earlier, the police had arrested five employees of the university, and they had secured bail.

Education department intervenes

Earlier, the Odisha government's higher education department sent a letter to Samanta requesting him to appear before the high-level committee on 21.02.2025 at 6.30 pm at the state guest house "to adduce evidence with adequate documentary evidence before the committee on the term of reference as stated in the office order".

The three-member committee, headed by additional chief secretary, home department, Satyabrata Sahu, is mandated to ascertain the circumstances leading to the suicide, alleged high-handed action by the institute authority, reasons for issuing notice to only a specific group of students and closing the institute sine die for them and other incidental matter that emerges during inquiry.

The committee, also comprising the secretaries of higher education department and Women and Child Development (WCD), had visited the KIIT campus on Wednesday and held a discussion with some of the Nepalese students, who were allegedly mistreated by the private institute's staffers for staging demonstration on the campus.

Higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said, "The high-level committee is empowered to summon anyone for the purpose of inquiry into the matter. The committee is functioning on the basis of law." "The state government has also discussed with the officials of Nepal Embassy and apprised the students about the developments," he said.

Also read: Ground report: Racially slighted, KIIT’s Nepali students dread return to campus

Boy arrested

Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh, meanwhile, said the police have obtained a three-day remand of a 21-year-old engineering student, who was arrested on the charge of abetting the woman's suicide. The accused was nabbed at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here while attempting to flee the city on Sunday evening, hours after the woman's death.

He has been accused of blackmailing and verbally abusing her.

Also read: Bhubaneswar's KIIT University protests: Three directors, 2 guards arrested

Normalcy returns

The state government has opened a round-the-clock help desk, to facilitate the Nepalese students' safe return.

Normalcy is slowly returning to KIIT campus and students have started attending classes even as different student organisations held demonstration outside the campus demanding action against those responsible for the death of the woman and attack on Nepalese students.

(With inputs from agencies)