KIIT founder and former BJD MP Achyuta Samanta grilled for over 2 hours by high-level committee over girl student’s death

A comprehensive probe is currently underway into the death of Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year B.Tech Nepali student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The inquiry has seen significant developments, after KIIT founder and former BJD MP Achyuta Samanta, was grilled for two and a half hours at a high-stakes session held at the State Guest House.

The detailed questioning forms part of an investigation led by the state government’s high-level committee tasked with uncovering the circumstances surrounding Prakriti’s demise. Seven other senior university officials presented their statements alongside Samanta before the three-member committee.

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Investigation proceedings:

In a tightly scheduled sequence, the KIIT Vice-Chancellor and Registrar were among the first to provide their testimonies, followed by the suspended staff members, Manjusha Pandey and Jayanti Nath who hit the headlines for Nepal budget remark.

Former BJD MP Samanta arrived at the state guest house before his scheduled 6:30 PM hearing. Earlier in the day, Congress MLAs in the Assembly demanded his arrest, blaming him for the KIIT fiasco.

High-Level Committee Investigation Progress:

The three-member inquiry committee, led by additional chief secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu, is tasked with examining the circumstances leading to the student’s suicide on February 16, the alleged high-handedness of the institute’s administration, and the decision to suspend specific students and shut down the institute for them.

The panel, which includes the secretaries of higher education and women & child development departments, had earlier visited the KIIT campus and spoken to Nepalese students who claimed mistreatment by institute staff for staging protests.