NHRC writes to Odisha DGP and Chief Secretary in matter related to KIIT Nepalese student suicide case

The incident comes barely two-and-a-half months after Prakriti Lamsal, another Nepalese student of the same institute, died by suicide on February 16. Photo shows candlelight march at the campus from February, 2025. | PTI photo

The National Human Rights Commission has written a letter to Odisha’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) over the issue of a Nepalese student who was found dead at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar. Earlier, NHRC member Priyank Kanoongo said that the organisation has taken cognisance of the death of a Nepalese student at KIIT. “We will take further action after the report comes, if needed, our team will go there,” said Mr. Kanoongo.

Speaking about the previous incident where another girl student was found dead on the KIIT campus, Mr. Kanoongo said the university administration tried to suppress the issue. “During our investigation, it came out that the student was sexually assaulted, pornographic content was filmed, and then she was blackmailed. When the girl complained to the college administration, instead of informing the police, the university administration tried to have a compromise and suppress the issue. Prima facie, the university administration was the culprit, so we asked the UGC to take strict action, as the environment was not conducive there,” he said.

In response to the tragedy, the University Grant Commission (UGC) has constituted a four-member fact-finding committee under the chairmanship of the Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Nageshwar Rao, to look into the recent alleged suicide deaths at KIIT.The committee will examine the circumstances surrounding these incidents, ensure compliance with student welfare and safety regulations, and suggest measures to prevent such incidents.

The committee also includes Shashikala Wanjari, Vice-Chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), and HCS Rathore, Former Vice Chancellor of Central University of South Bihar, Gaya, as a member and Sunita Siwach, Joint Secretary of UGC as the coordination officer, according to a statement from UGC on Friday. Earlier in February, Prakriti Lamsal also died by suicide at the same university.