TV
In connection with the death of a Nepali girl student and the aftermath chaos, six more KIIT University officials appeared before the high-level committee led by the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Odisha Home Department at the State Guest House in Bhubaneswar at around 10:30 am on Thursday.
Who All Were Summoned?
The Chief Proctor of KIIT University, PK Pattnaik; Senior Hostel Superintendent Sanhita Mishra, Assistant Director Smarika Pati, IC head Ipsita Satapathy, Sidharth Ray from the administrative office and one other person were among the six officials who presented themselves before the probe committee today.
On Tuesday, the Odisha Higher Education Department served notices to the above six officials and notified them to appear before the fact-finding committee set up by it.
KIIT University Founder & Ex-BJD MP Achyuta Samanta Interrogated
Further, on February 21, the committee interrogated KIIT founder and former BJD MP Achyuta Samanta for two and a half hours. Along with him, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, and two suspended female staff members, Manjusha Pandey and Jayanti Nath, had also appeared before the committee and recorded their statements.
What is the High-level Committee Probing?
The three-member inquiry committee, led by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu is probing into the death of Prakriti Lamsal, a B. Tech third-year student of KIIT University. On February 16, she was found dead in her hostel room allegedly due to harassment and blackmailing by her ex-boyfriend.
Subsequently, protests broke out on the KIIT campus after friends of the deceased alleged that the institution's International Relations Office (IRO) did not pay attention to Lamsal’s plea regarding the matter. Further, the university also faced allegations of using excessive force on protesting students and directing its Nepalese students to vacate the campus.
