TV
Odisha Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Sampad Swain criticized KIIT University authority for making ‘arbitrary decisions’ in the hours following the death of Prakriti Lamsal, an international student from Nepal, in the university’s hostel.
The minister made the statements when interacting with the media in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Along with condemning the decisions taken by the university, he also assured that stringent action would be taken against those found guilty.
“The manner in which the KIIT authorities behaved with the students is highly condemnable. Students are the future of this country and such conduct against them is unacceptable,” he stated.
Swain referred to the hasty and controversial orders issued by the KIIT administration after large-scale protests on campus over Lamsal's death as well as students claiming her death resulted from the inaction of the KIIT International Relations Office (IRO).
The alleged mishandling of the incident by KIIT included the use of excessive force by campus security personnel, forcing students from Nepal to vacate the campus and leave immediately, and a delay in apology, among others.
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Notably, on Monday, KIIT authorities ordered all students from Nepal to leave for their homes and shifted them to Cuttack railway station without any prior notice. The matter held grave consequences with the Prime Minister of Nepal expressing his concern and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi eventually appealing to the students to return to the campus.
Meanwhile, a high-level fact-finding committee led by the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Odisha Home Department is currently conducting its second consecutive day of investigations into the matter, which Swain said will ensure justice.
“A high-level committee is already probing the matter. Several allegations have been received and all of them will be looked into as per the report submitted by the probe committee. Anyone found guilty will not be spared,” he added.
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Lastly, the minister also added that allegations of land irregularities involving KIIT and its founder will also be probed.
