Suicide of Nepali girl student at private university in Bhubaneswar rocks Odisha Assembly

Bhubaneswar, Feb 18: The ongoing Budget Session of the Odisha Assembly today witnessed an uproarious scene over the alleged suicide of Nepali girl student at the hostel campus of a private university in Bhubaneswar.

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Opposition Chief Whip Pratap Deb raised the issue during zero hour and criticized the BJP government for worsening law and order situation in the state. 

"The student suicide at KIIT University has drawn international condemnation for Odisha. The BJP government, which came to power promising to uphold Odia Asmita, has failed to maintain law and order in the state and it is worsening everywhere, from the state capital to rural areas," said Deb.

"A murder occurred in the heart of Bhubaneswar during the Prime Minister's visit. People are unsafe in apartments. The alleged assault on an Army man and his female friend at Bharatpur police station shows that even police stations aren't safe. The district collector has yet to submit the inquiry report on the alleged assault of a government employee by the then Governor's son in Puri. The RDC's investigation into the Chikiti hooch tragedy is still pending. In my constituency, the culprit roams freely while the police remain silent, even though an FIR has been filed. Law and order is in chaos throughout the state," Deb added questioning whether there is a directive from the top to go slow.

Also Read: KIIT unrest: Commissionerate Police sets up 24X7 control room near campus

In response to Deb, BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy called the KIIT incident ‘unfortunate’ and countered, "Which party elected the KIIT founder as MP? Who promoted him? Which party's minister assaulted police at a police station? The former Law Minister was an accused in the Mahanga double murder case. Who was behind the Pari murder case? The former Chief Minister praised a former minister accused in the Mamita Meher murder case at a meeting in his home district. Will you (BJD) teach us about law and order?"

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Tara Bahinipati condemned the atrocities against protesting students by KIIT authorities and called for a judicial inquiry into the death of the Nepali student.

"Odisha has been condemned globally for the actions of KIIT authorities against Nepali students protesting for justice for the deceased student. India shares a close bond with Nepal, a country that offers musk (Kasturi) to Lord Jagannath. However, the way KIIT authorities treated Nepali students protesting is reprehensible. They expelled around 1,500 students and forced them to leave the campus. Videos of the crackdown on Nepali students at KIIT University have gone viral, which is deeply distressing, especially as this concerns Jagannath culture and Odisha," said the Congress MLA.

He called for the state government's intervention in the matter and declared that he would sit inside the House until a judicial probe was ordered.

It is worth mentioning that the Nepali girl student identified as Prakriti Lamsal was found dead at the hostel campus of a private university in Bhubaneswar on February 16. 

Also Read: Nepal govt to make arrangements to send back KIIT student's body

The incident sparked widespread outrage among students, with many taking to the streets to demand justice for the deceased. Angry students blocked roads near the campus demanding for the arrest of the deceased's boyfriend.

Following a complaint lodged by Prakriti’s cousin Siddhant Sigdel (24), who is also a third-year student at the university, police arrested Advik Srivastava (21) for allegedly harassing the girl.