Odisha government asks KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta to appear before probe panel

The Odisha higher education department on Thursday asked Achyuta Samanta, the founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), to appear before a high-level committee in connection with the probe into the suicide of a 20-year-old Nepali girl a few days ago and the subsequent violence in the campus that triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

KIIT University has been in the eye of the storm since Sunday after the girl, a computer science student, was found hanging in her hostel room following alleged blackmails by her classmate, a 21-year-old mechanical engineering student from Lucknow. The incident snowballed into a major crisis after protesting students were forcefully evicted from the campus and allegedly assaulted by university authorities, with two women officials allegedly hurling racial abuses at the Nepali students.

The state higher education department has asked Samanta to appear by Friday evening with all documents regarding the suicide. The high-level probe committee, headed by additional chief secretary (home) Satyabrata Sahu, visited KIIT University and said it will conduct voice spectrography to verify the authenticity of multiple voice messages circulating online, allegedly featuring conversations between the accused and the deceased. The forensic analysis aims to determine whether the recordings are genuine or manipulated.

KIIT has already issued an apology over the incident and instituted a scholarship in the name of the deceased student. It also suspended five of its staffers, including two women, for allegedly hurling racial abuses.

The state higher education department has launched a 24×7 help desk to ensure the safe return of Nepali students who left the campus and to support those still residing at the university campus. The department also released four helpline numbers (0674-2396550, 0674-2323401, 0674-2323402, 0674-2323403) and a WhatsApp number (9124620605) for students seeking assistance.

The Police Commissionerate, which took the 21-year-old accused on a three-day remand on Thursday, has begun interrogating to find the nature of the relationship between the accused and the deceased and the possible reasons behind her alleged suicide.

“The accused had shot some objectionable videos and photographs of the victim on his mobile phone and used it to blackmail her. As the matter reached the international relations cell of KIIT a couple of times, the accused was warned and then suspended for a month. On the day she killed herself, the two had a bitter fight in the morning and a few hours later she hanged herself from the ceiling fan. Once we interrogate the accused, the chain of events leading to the suicide would be clearer,” a police official said.

Odisha law minister Prithviraj Harichandan said no individuals, even slightly involved in the KIIT incidents, will be spared.

“Whether it is the authorities from KIIT University or any other person(s), those found guilty will be dealt with according to the law and face befitting consequences. The chief minister has already made the state government’s stance on this clear. The CM has also assured KIIT students from Nepal that no such incidents will occur in the future. The safety of the students is the responsibility of the Government. Besides, law will take its course and the process to punish culprits will keep continuing,” Harichandan said.

The student was cremated at the Swargadhari Ghat in Bhairahawa, Nepal on Thursday.