Odisha asks KIIT authorities to initiate action against 'unruly' employees

NEW DELHI: The Odisha government has asked the authorities of the private institute KIIT to initiate action against the employees involved in the mistreatment of students following the recent suicide by a Nepalese girl in her hostel room, an official said. The state government's directive came a day after Nepal Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba spoke to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi over the phone.

She insisted that the teachers and staff who misbehaved with Nepalese students should be removed from the college, the official said. "We have already issued an instruction to the KIIT authorities to take prompt action to restore the confidence of Nepalese students who have not returned to the campus so far," a senior official told PTI on Sunday. The Nepal government has also expressed concern that their students may be subjected to reprisal if the "unruly" teachers and staff members remain in the institute.

Out of the nearly 1,000 Nepalese students of KIIT, only a few could return to the campus responding to the assurance of the state government and apology by the institute authorities. "The students, including girls, who have undergone a harrowing experience on Monday (February 17) for being forcibly evicted from hostels, dropped at a railway station far away from Bhubaneswar without having tickets to return, are yet to recover from the fear," said one of the Nepalese students.

10 employees arrested

The police after examining CCTV footage have arrested 10 employees of KIIT , including some director-level officials, security guards and others on charges of assaulting the students. According to a release issued by KIIT on February 18, two security staff were terminated from service while two senior hostel officials and one senior administrative officer of the International Relations Office (IRO) were suspended pending inquiry.

The KIIT authorities have also tendered an apology for some of its staff making some disparaging comments and the distress caused to the students. Twenty-year-old Nepalese girl Prakriti Lamsal’s body was recovered from her hostel room on February 16 afternoon when the entire institute was celebrating its foundation day. The girl was alone in the hostel when most of the hostel inmates were attending the function.

The unrest began on the KIIT campus when Nepalese students wanted to see the body of the girl and sought justice. Following this, a section of the KIIT staff attacked them, and the institute ordered their eviction from the hostel.