KATHMANDU, Feb 20: The last rites of Prakriti Lamsal, a Nepali student found dead in her hostel room at KIIT University in Odisha, India, were conducted in her hometown.
Her funeral was held after her body was brought to Butwal from Odisha, where she was pursuing a B.Tech degree. Lamsal was discovered dead in her hostel room on Sunday.
Her family conducted the funeral at Bankroad Colony in Siddharthanagar Municipality-8, Rupandehi. Her body arrived in Nepal last night and was taken to Swargadwari Ghat following a procession through Bhairahawa. Nepali students from Siddharthanagar studying at KIIT also joined the procession. Her grandfather, Devanath Lamsal, performed the final rites.
Bhatta’s final rites are being performed today, 17 days after h...
KIIT University initially claimed that Lamsal died by suicide. However, students protested, alleging foul play. Tensions escalated after the administration used force against the protesters, leading to widespread condemnation.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Lamsal took her own life due to alleged mental harassment by a third-year mechanical engineering student at the university. The accused, identified as Advik Srivastava, was arrested at Bhubaneswar Airport while attempting to flee the state. The police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Students have been holding silent protests outside the university, demanding justice and criticizing the administration's handling of the situation. They accused the university of trying to cover up the incident and using excessive force against protesters.
In response, the Odisha government has formed a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the incident. Led by the chief secretary (home) of the state, the committee includes secretaries from the Higher Education Department and the Women and Child Development Department. The committee will examine the cause of Lamsal's death, the university's response to student protests, and its failure to inform the state government about the incident.
Following Lamsal’s death and the subsequent protests, five KIIT University officials were arrested, including Shivanananda Mishra (Director General of Human Resources), Pratap Kumar Champati (Director of Administration), Sudhir Kumar Rath (Director of Hostels), and security guards Ramakant Nayak and Jogendra Behera. They were presented before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court but were granted bail of INR 20,000 each within hours of their arrest.
