Nepal girl's death at Odisha college sparks protest; PM Oli 'dispatches two officers' to counsel students

Kathmandu [Nepal]/ Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], February 17 (ANI): Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday said that his government has taken cognizance of the death of a student from Nepal at a private college in Bhubaneswar, which sparked protests, and is pursuing the matter with India through diplomatic channels.
"It has come to our attention through media and social media that a Nepali student has died in the hostel of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University in Odisha, India, and that Nepali students have been forcibly evicted from the hostel," Oli said in a statement posted on his Facebook account.
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"Our Embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students affected in Odisha," Oli said in a post on X.
"Additionally, arrangements have been made to ensure they have the option to either remain in their hostel or return home, based on their preference," he said in a post on X.
The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University in Bhubaneswar saw protests after a third-year BTech student from Nepal was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her room at the girl's hostel room on February 15 evening.
An FIR was filed at the Infocity police station of Bhubaneswar on February 16 on the complaint of the cousin of the deceased girl alleging that the latter was being blackmailed by a male student at the university, which led her to hang herself. The Odisha police have lodged a case under Section 108 of the BNS.
Students primarily of Nepali origin took out a protest demanding the arrest of the boy they claimed was responsible for abusing the girl and thus leading to her suicide.
The KIIT University on Monday evening issued a statement appealing to Nepali students "who have or plan to leave the campus to return and resume the classes."
"There was an unfortunate incident which took place late in the evening yesterday on the KIIT campus. Immediately after the incident, police investigated the matter and apprehended the culprit.
"The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy in the campus and hostels to resume the academic activities," the University said in a statement today.
Prior to this, the Odisha University had issued a notice which reportedly said that the varsity was "closed sine die for all international students from Nepal" and they were directed to vacate the university campus.
Students stated that they were visibly distressed and anxious as they didn't have the necessary tickets to return home. Some even claimed that they were preparing for examinations which are set to start from the last week of February. (ANI)