Police arrest University student in Bhubaneswar after B.tech students suicide

Bhubaneshwar: The police in Bhubaneswar have  arrested a student of KIIT University in connection with the alleged death by suicide of a third-year B.Tech student from Nepal who died on Sunday. The incident also led to protests by students and members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Monday demanding justice. Speaking on the case,.

Bhubaneshwar: The police in Bhubaneswar have  arrested a student of KIIT University in connection with the alleged death by suicide of a third-year B.Tech student from Nepal who died on Sunday.

The incident also led to protests by students and members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Monday demanding justice.

Speaking on the case, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Datta Singh stated that authorities received information about the suicide of a third-year Computer Science student.

“Yesterday evening, we received information about the incident of suicide by a girl student of a third-year Computer Science in KIIT University. On this information, a case was registered. There was an allegation that this girl who belonged to Nepal was harassed by one student of KIIT University in third year Mechanical engineering. We investigated the matter, and we got prima facie evidence that there was some sort of harassment which could have prompted the girl to die by suicide, so we arrested the accused person; we examined him, and today, he has been forwarded to judicial custody”, said the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Suresh Dev Datta Singh while speaking to media.

The Commissioner further said that authorities have seized the victim’s personal belongings, including her mobile phone, which will be sent for forensic examination.

“Yesterday, there was a sentimental, emotional outburst so both students belonging to Nepal, as well as India, joined together in protest against the university authorities, demanding justice. We deployed a police force at KIIT University…they were convinced by morning and now the situation is peaceful.”

“We have seized some personal belongings like a mobile from the girl, and it will be first sent to the forensic science laboratory and then it will be analyzed to gather further evidence in this case…,” he added.

 Earlier in the day, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that his government has taken cognizance of the incident 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.

“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.

Notably, 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.