Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said Monday evening his government dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students after the death of a young woman at an Indian university campus sparked protests.
The Nepalese student, Prakriti Lamsal, was found dead in her dorm room at a well-known private university, the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), in the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneshwar, on Sunday evening.
Students at the university took to protesting against the incident overnight, asking management for a thorough investigation into the matter, but said they were met with “suppression,” according to the Nepal Students’ Union (NSU).
Turmoil after KIIT asks Nepalese students to ‘vacate’ premises
The university issued a bulletin following protests, asking Nepalese students to “vacate the university campus immediately on February 17,” before rescinding the order Monday evening.
Indian media outlets reported that Nepalese students at the university were asked to board buses so they could be taken to various railway stations and then travel home.
The university administration later issued another appeal on X, writing that it had taken steps to restore normalcy on the campus, adding: “An appeal is made to all our Nepali students who have or plan to leave the campus to return and resume the classes.”
The NSU union told DW that they were “positive about the reversal of the order” but still had concerns about the safety of the students, adding that university authorities had assured them that the people involved in the incident had been suspended.
What do we know about the apparent suicide case so far?
Dr. Shradhanjali Nayak, the director for press relations at the university, told DW on Tuesday that the student had “died by suicide in her hostel room” and “university officials immediately informed the police.” Police took a “male student, believed to have been in a relationship” with the student into custody.
Police official Pinak Mishra told the Times of India newspaper that a student had been detained on charges of abetment to suicide and that a “scientific investigation” was underway to determine the cause of death of the Nepalese student.
The NSU has demanded a full investigation, saying the authorities at the university were negligent and failed to act on a complaint where she reportedly flagged reports of being harassed by a student.
This article has been updated with comments by the university administration.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
