KIIT University tension: 5 including 3 directors of the varsity arrested

The Commissionerate Police-Bhubaneswar arrested five officials on Tuesday in connection with the ongoing student unrest at KIIT University in the Capital City following the suspicious death of a Nepali girl student of the varsity on February 16 (Sunday).

Also Read: Unrest over KIIT University girl student’s death: ‘They tried to hide facts so bad that it exploded’

The five employees of KIIT were arrested based on Infocity PS case (No-55, Dt. 17.02.2025, U/s-126(2)/296/115(2)/3(5) of the BNS). The accused were later forwarded to court.

The arrested KIIT employees are:

Sibananda Mishra, aged 59 years, working as Director General (Human Resources); Pratap Kumar Champaty, aged 51 years, working as Director (Admn); Sudhir Kumar Rath, age 59 years, working as Director (Hostels); Ramakanta Nayak (45), working as security guard in KIIT University; Jogendra Behera (25), working as a security guard at KIIT University.

Meanwhile, the five persons have been granted bail by the Judicial Magistrate First Class-2 (JMFC-2) court in Bhubaneswar in connection with the unfortunate death of the university student. The bail was accorded upon posting a surety and a bond of Rs 20,000.

Must Read: KIIT University girl student’s death: Past cases highlight alarming pattern of negligence!

Worth mentioning, Students at KIIT University staged a silent protest on Tuesday in the scorching heat, raising concerns over the allegedly inhuman way of handling the unrest triggered by the suspicious death of a Nepali student in the varsity hostel.

According to sources, these international students were compelled to vacate their hostel following incidents of physical assault. Allegedly, the Nepali students were beaten by the university staff as well as security personnel.

Odisha government, on Tuesday, constituted a high-level fact-finding committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Home Department to probe into the death of the Nepali student inside the hostel premises of KIIT University as well as the alleged excessive use of force by university security personnel.

A press note dated 18th February stated that the high-level committee would comprise the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department, the Principal Secretary of the Women & Child Development Department, and the Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Higher Education Department as its members.

“In light of the recent unfortunate incident relating to KIIT University, the Government of Odisha has taken immediate cognizance of the matter and taken steps to arrest security guards and suspension of erring officials involved,” an official letter mentioned.