Tragic incident triggered by months-long blackmail and harassment and inaction by the university authorities sparks outrage across Nepal.
KATHMANDU, Feb 17: A 20-year-old Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, was found dead in her campus residence at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on Sunday evening, in what is being described as a case of relentless mental torture and institutional negligence.
The tragic death of Lamsal, a third-year B.Tech student, allegedly by suicide after over a month of blackmail and harassment by a fellow student, an Indian national, has sparked outrage among Nepali students in various Indian institutions and across Nepal. The Nepali students staging a protest demanding fair investigation into her death were forcibly evicted from their university hostel by the college administration, leaving them stranded in local train stations.
It has been revealed that the deceased student was under mental strain for over a month after allegedly being blackmailed by her ‘ex-lover’ Advik Srivastava, which prompted her to take the decision to end her own life. According to students knowledgeable about the case, Srivastava used to repeatedly blackmail the victim girl and the college administration did not respond to the complaints she filed at the college.
Advik Srivavstava
A X user ‘Squint Neon’ has posted an audio clip which captures Srivastava verbally assaulting Lamsal, making derogatory remarks about her and her mother. In the audio clip, he has even coerced the audibly scared Lamsal to accept his demeaning accusation.
KIIT University: The Suspicious Side
Nepali students at the university claim that Lamsal had repeatedly sought help from the International Relations Office (IRO) of the university regarding the issue. However, her cries for help were allegedly ignored by the university staff. Months of constant torture and the reluctance of the university authority to act on her complaints prompted her to take her life, according to her close friends.
“Prakriti had twice approached the IRO – the international department of the university that looks after foreign students. The department did not take any action even after she filed a complaint. This further put Prakriti under mental stress,” a Nepali student at KIIT told Republica.
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Perhaps worried that their gross negligence would be exposed and fearing a backlash, officials of the university tampered with the evidence found at Lamsal’s room after she was found dead. Indian netizens have claimed that the death was the tenth case of its kind to have taken place in KIIT, Bhubaneswar in a year but all previous cases were hushed up to protect the institution’s public image.
According to the university students, Lamsal’s dead body was transported out of the room immediately on Sunday night by the university officials while the police only reached the site and took the body for post-mortem on Monday morning. In addition, the campus authorities had taken hold of Lamsal’s mobile phone and laptop from her room. The university administration has now reportedly handed over the evidence to the police.
Furthermore, students have claimed that Srivastava was sent back to his home by the university administration to ‘control the situation.’ Srivastava is reportedly the son of an influential politician in India’s Uttar Pradesh state. He was apprehended by the police from the airport on Sunday night while attempting to flee the state.
A Protest That Turned Ugly
After Lamsal’s lifeless body was found hanging in her room, students knowledgeable about Lamsal’s repeated requests for help rallied other Nepali students and Indian students alike to stage a demonstration on Sunday night, demanding a fair investigation into the cause of death including the university’s gross negligence.
They held a vigil inside the campus premises and chanted slogans demanding accountability from the college administration. Instead of working towards a solution to pacify the Nepali students, the university administration chose to use force to physically assault them and chase them out of the university premises.
Multiple videos have been shared across social media platforms showing the university’s staff beating Nepali students under the instruction of the university’s dean. They even invited campus security into the premises and baton charged the demonstrators.
In addition to the physical assault on the students, videos that have gone viral on social media platforms show that the faculties and staff of the college heaping xenophobic slurs at the Nepali students, belittling the students demanding justice. Multiple videos are currently being circulated on social media platforms showing two university staff claiming that the university’s food bill is larger than Nepal’s GDP and therefore, Nepali students do not have any standing in the university.
Netizens in Nepal have demanded action against the duo for their demeaning behavior that could potentially strain the otherwise cordial people-to-people relations subsisting between the two countries.
Brutal Eviction and Stranded Students
In the wee hours of Monday, the campus authorities reportedly entered the students’ housing and started picking out over 500 Nepali students and verbally issuing them the ultimatum of two hours to leave the campus.
Although some students did not wish to leave the campus as they had no idea or experience about the means to return back to Nepal, campus authorities allegedly issued death threats and assaulted the students, forcing them to board buses that took them to the nearby train station.
“The gym trainer came to us and threatened to kill us if we did not vacate the hostel within two hours,” a Nepali student said in a state of panic, speaking with Republica, “When I captured a video of my friend being beaten up, the gym trainer kicked me in the face, drawing blood. The university staff displayed such a low-level act of human rights violation against us.”
The first official notice from the university’s registrar announced the suspension of classes for all the Nepali students on a cine die. In other words, the students were not informed when their classes would be resumed.
“Look at the inhumanity of the university. We Nepali students were all beaten up and thrown out of the hostel by gym trainers. The university has now brought us to the Bhubaneswar railway platform like a sack of something. Where should we go and what should we do?” a weeping Nepali student told Republica from the Bhubaneswar railway platform.
Diplomatic Intervention from Nepal Embassy
After the incident blew up across Nepal on social media platforms and the issue was raised in the parliament meeting on Monday by lawmaker Sumana Shrestha, the Embassy of Nepal in India took steps to demand proper investigation into Lamsal’s death and to ensure the well-being of the Nepali students.
Issuing a press release on Monday afternoon, the embassy stated that it had held discussions with the university authorities whereby they requested the authorities to house the students in their campus and make arrangements to conduct the classes of the students.
The statement read, “The university authorities informed the embassy that they would operate the classes and house the students in the campus as per the embassy’s request.”
The embassy has also stated that it had urged the university to facilitate an independent and unbiased investigation into Lamsal’s death. The statement read, “The university has expressed its strong commitment to take the issue seriously.”
The embassy also stated that it is actively working with India’s union government and Odisha’s chief minister to resolve the issue.
KIIT’s Changes Stance, But Where is the Apology?
In a statement issued by the university, the officials claimed that they discussed the issue with Nepali students and that they were returned to their homes. However, the students claim that the university authorities did not discuss the issue with them and they were still stranded at the train station when the statement was issued.
In another statement released by the university, the KIIT appealed to the Nepali students to return to the campus, resume their classes, and stay in their hostels. It also assured that academic losses of the students will be taken care of by the institute.
Amid all this, the university has not admitted its wrongdoings of using physical force to deal with the Nepali students, humiliate them verbally and leave them at the train station without proper means to return home. Prominent Nepali citizens including former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai have demanded an apology from the university for its mistreatment of Nepali students.
Indian Embassy in Nepal Assures Well-being of Nepali Students in India
The Embassy of India in Kathmandu in a statement on Monday evening expressed grief over Lamsal’s tragic death.
The embassy in the statement said that it has been in touch with the authorities of KIIT as well as the Odisha State Government and has been informed that the local authorities have initiated an investigation into the unfortunate incident.
The statement read, “Nepali students studying in India form an important facet of the enduring people to people links between the two countries. The Government of India will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the well-being of the Nepali students in India.”
