Nepali students refuse to return to college amid security concerns
KATHMANDU, Feb 18: The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, has apologized for misbehavior meted out to Nepali students following the death of a Nepali student at the university on Sunday.
The university in a statement on Tuesday also appealed to Nepali students to return to campus and resume their studies staying in the hostels. However, the agitating Nepali students, who have been demanding fair investigation and justice to a 20-year old Prakriti Lamsal, have yet to return to the college, fearing further misbehavior. The agitating Nepali students on Monday were brutally kicked out from the university hostel and left them stranded at a local train station.
“We are also regretful of the way some of us behaved with the agitating students. We love our students and have never done any disservice to them,” reads the statement.
KIIT officials apologize for threatening Nepali students after...
According to a student studying there, Nepali students are still outside the university. “The college has appealed to us to return. However, we have not returned. We have decided to return only after understanding the situation of the college,” said a student, asking not to be named.
He said that some students are returning to Nepal and some are staying in hotels there. “Around 200 students have returned to Nepal. They are on their way home now. They have not reached home. Other students are staying in hotels here. Our decision is to return only if the college creates a safe environment,” he said.
The student added that they have received information from the Nepali Embassy in Delhi that two officials are coming to the college. He said, “We have received information from the embassy that two officials are arriving. They have not arrived yet.”
KIIT had issued a statement on Monday itself urging Nepali students to return. The college had urged the students to return to campus and participate in academic activities.
In a press release issued today, the university stated that two security guards and two hostel staff members, who were responsible for the misbehave, have been dismissed. Additionally, one administrative staff member and three employees from the International Relations Office (IRO) have been suspended.
Deceased Lamsal, a third-year B.Tech student at KIIT University in Odisha, India, was found dead on Sunday evening. Following the incident, agitating students staged a protest outside the university. They shouted slogans alleging that Lamsal lost her life due to the negligence of university officials.
The university forcibly evicted Nepali students from the hostel and dispersed them to various locations, citing student protests. Students have complained that university administration had used force to evict them from the hospital, showing complete disregard to basic human rights.
