Bhubaneswar KIIT University and controversies: From UP girl killing self to Nepal girl’s death…

A 20-year-old Nepali student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar died, allegedly by suicide, in her hostel, leading to massive protests. The news of the student's death spread quickly, causing hundreds of students, including those from the neighbouring country, to gather on the campus on Sunday night. They staged a demonstration demanding justice.

However, this is not the first such event of suicide and student unrest at KIIT. A similar case had emerged two years ago in 2023, when a girl student from Uttar Pradesh allegedly ended her life, with a formal investigation being lodged at the Infocity police station.

As per data obtained through the Right to Information Act from Infocity police, a worrying trend of students succumbing to pressures from failures in love relationships and other social challenges, surfaced. In some instances, students are allegedly becoming embroiled in criminal cases.

As per reports, there are approximately 27,000 students enrolled in 34 courses including about 2,000 international students from 65 countries in KIIT University. However, it is claimed that lack of timely counselling support is the reason behind suicide of some of the students.

The recent case involving a Nepali student has intensified discussions around improving mental health for students and preventing such tragedies.

Besides, in 2016, KIIT students had resorted to a road blockade to protest the alleged molestation of a girl student of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) located inside the university campus.

The students reportedly came out in large numbers and blocked the KIIT-Sikharchandi Road and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

They alleged that a girl student of NIFT was molested by some unidentified youths when she was on her way to the NIFT campus.

Must Read: KIIT University girl student’s death: Post-mortem to be conducted today, security guards detained for assaulting students

Though the girl screamed for help, the security guards deployed near a women’s hostel of KIIT allegedly did not come to her rescue. The agitating students had alleged that the warden of the women’s hostel did not help the girl.

However, no comments could be obtained from KIIT authorities in this regard.