Responding to a query on KIIT student death row, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said that India accords high priority to the safety, security, and well-being of all international students in the country.
KIIT student death row: The Ministry of External Affairs in the weekly media presser on Friday said it was deeply saddened by the death of a Nepalese student at an institution in Odisha and added that the Government of India accords high priority to the safety, security, and well-being of all international students in the country. Addressing the presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal underscored that the MEA has been in touch with the Odisha government and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) authorities after the matter surfaced, adding, “We have also maintained close contact with the Nepalese authority.” Odisha Police has made several arrests, the MEA spokesperson said.
The police on Thursday arrested five more staff members of the private engineering college on the charge of assaulting Nepalese students while they were vacating the hostel following a direction of the institute authorities.
Police have so far arrested 11 people, including an engineering student who was booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of the 20-year-old Nepalese woman in her hostel room earlier. Following her death, the Nepalese students staged demonstrations demanding justice.
Moreover, KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta on Thursday tendered an apology to the parents of the Nepalese pupils and urged all those who vacated the campus to come back.
Sitting in a gathering of students and two Nepal Embassy officials, Samanta said, “We all are very sorry and saddened over the unfortunate incident that happened on February 16 night. I am also personally feeling sad. We have taken action against some people.”
KIIT has announced a scholarship in memory of Prakriti Lamsal, the 20-year-old Nepalese student of the private engineering institute who died allegedly by suicide in her hostel room on February 16, leading to unrest on the campus. The announcement was made by Samanta. “A scholarship would be instituted in Lamsal’s name as a tribute to her memory,” Samanta said.
Senior officials from Nepal’s New Delhi Embassy also met students from their country on the campus on Wednesday, assuring them that similar incidents would not be repeated.
(With inputs from PTI)
