The presumed suicide of 20-year-old Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year BTech Nepali student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, India, rocked the parliaments in Kathmandu and Odisha on Tuesday, with calls for justice and strong action against the culprits who pushed her to such a tragic end.

Protests have erupted in several parts of the country and solidarity for Lamsal has been pouring in from Nepal, India, and other parts of the world asking for justice for the woman. She was allegedly subjected to prolonged harassment by her boyfriend who is now in police custody.

The Police Commissionerate of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack said in a statement on Tuesday that a complaint was lodged by one Siddhant Sigdel, a student at KIIT, at Infocity Police on Sunday about the death of his cousin sister Lamsal. Sigdel’s complaint alleges that Lamsal took her own life due to harassment by Advik Srivastava, 21, a third-year BTech (Mechanical) student at the same university.

“The accused student, Avidk Srivastava, was arrested on 17.02.2025 and has been forwarded to the judicial custody on the same day i.e. on 17. 02. 2025. Investigation of the case is continuing, including seizure of the documents and electronic gadgets as evidence,” said the police statement.

Five persons including three directors and two security guards at the institute have been arrested. On Tuesday evening, hundreds of students marched on college premises, held a candlelight vigil and demanded justice for Lamsal and protection for themselves.

Two security officials from the Nepal Embassy in New Delhi reached Bhubaneswar on Tuesday and met Nepali students and KIIT officials. The embassy said discussions focussed on ensuring justice for Lamsal and her family, arranging safe return of Nepali students who have left the university and reached Calcutta and Nepal, and guaranteeing their safety in the future, said the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi.

Following an intervention by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the chief secretary of Odisha met KIIT officials. A Nepali diplomat based in New Delhi said that in response, the institution issued a series of statements and an apology over the incident.

On Tuesday, KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta also telephoned Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba and informed of the steps taken by the college administration, including suspension of security guards involved in beating Nepali and other students during the protest, firing of some 10 staff members, and lodging of cases against some individuals.

“The situation is gradually normalising, and we are in touch with the college administration as Prakriti’s family,” Shankar Sharma, Nepali ambassador to India told the Post over the phone. “We are now waiting for the postmortem report.

Sharma expressed hope that the Nepali students who had left the city would return soon as their exams were approaching.

“Since everyone has pledged to ensure justice for Prakitit, we hope it will be delivered.”

Prakriti’s father Sunil Lamsal has already reached Odisha seeking justice for his daughter.

The Odisha state government issued a statement on Tuesday evening, saying it has taken immediate cognizance of the matter and taken steps to arrest security guards and suspend the officials involved.

“The institution has been placed under notice, and appropriate legal and administrative action shall follow based on findings of the high level fact finding committee constituted by the government. The committee consists of additional chief secretary, home department, principal secretary, women and child development department and commissioner-cum-secretary, higher education department as members,” said the statement.

Reports of misconduct, including use of force against students by private individuals, are under investigation, and those responsible, will be held accountable as per the law, said the Odisha government statement.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has condemned KIIT’s treatment of Nepali students as deplorable, and warned that it could stop issuing no-objection letters to Nepali students seeking higher education in Odisha if the recent incident is not resolved through legal and justifiable means.

The ministry also urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the matter through diplomacy.

Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, including the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party, criticised the government for its poor handling of Lamsal’s death and termed it a “diplomatic” failure of the government.

“This [incident] requires regular follow up and update,” said Swarnim Wagle of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, speaking in Parliament. “This issue is not going to be resolved by issuing a flood of statements. We need daily updates on what is happening there until the case is settled,” said Wagle, while criticising the delayed mobilisation of Nepal’s foreign ministry.

Wagle also questioned the ability of Nepali ambassadors alleging that they were handpicked through favouritism.

CPN-UML lawmakers Chabilal Bishawkarma and Thakur Gaire; Rastriya Prajatantra Party chief Rajendra Lingden and lawmaker Dhurba Bahadur Pradhan; and Maoist Centre lawmaker Madhav Sapkota, among others, demanded justice for Prakriti and stern punishment for the culprits.

The National Assembly also urged the government to ensure justice to Prakriti and her family.

Similarly, concerns were voiced in the Indian state assembly of Odisha during the zero hour on Tuesday, as opposition parties raised alarm over the state’s law and order situation following Lamsal’s death.

The Opposition deputy chief whip, Pratap Deb, said the tragic death of Nepali student has tarnished Odisha’s reputation globally, according to Odisha TV. Further, Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Tara Prasad Bahinipati also condemned the incident, arguing that Odisha has earned a bad reputation due to the KIIT incident.

He demanded judicial inquiry into the matter and warned of a sit-in protest if his call was not heeded.

“Odisha has been ashamed in the whole country because of KIIT. Odisha has an old relationship with Nepal for Lord Jagannath. The way the Nepali students were beaten is condemnable. There should be a judicial inquiry into the incident. Otherwise, I will start a sit-in protest,” said Bahinipati.

Speaking to OTV, a KIIT student from Nepal lamented the entire sequence of events and stated that the sudden announcement by university officials left them in the lurch and with no means to arrange for proper travel or accommodation.

“Many students from Nepal study at KIIT and it is not feasible for all of them to arrange travel by train on the same day. It is simply not feasible to vacate all of a sudden. The [college] notice not only left us helpless but also added severe mental pressure,” he said.

KIIT said on Tuesday it had taken disciplinary action against its security staff and officials in connection with the incidents that followed the suspicious death of the Nepali student at the college.

The university said two security staff had been dismissed, while two senior hostel officials and a senior administrative officer from the International Relations Office were suspended pending an inquiry.

The university said it has set up a 24/7 control room at Campus 6 to assist Nepali students in returning. The university said staff were encouraging students to rejoin the campus and apologised for any distress caused by remarks made in the aftermath of the incident.

On Monday, the university had ordered Nepali students to vacate the hostels following a dispute over Lamsal’s death.

Lamsal was found dead on Sunday evening after reportedly facing persistent harassment from an Indian batchmate. Fellow Nepali students alleged that despite previous complaints, the university administration failed to act against the accused.

Lamsal’s cousin, Siddhant Sigdel, who reported the incident to the police, alleged that she was ‘blackmailed’. The Indian Express reported that an FIR was filed saying the actions of Prakriti’s batchmate pushed her to take the extreme step.

The deceased girl’s father, Sunil Lamsal, has accused the institution of mistreating Nepali students.

Lamsal, who arrived in Bhubaneswar after receiving the devastating news, expressed his grief and frustration in a conversation with the local media. “I sent my daughter this far for higher education, trusting the institution. I have faith in the Odisha government and police and hope justice prevails. My daughter is no more, but I pray no other Nepali student faces such a fate,” he said.

The KIIT also issued an apology, and two female teachers who had made negative comments about Nepal and Nepali students appeared in public to offer their respective apologies.

“We too apologise for all that has happened and hereby tender our love and affection to all the students and people of Nepal. We love them as much as we love the people of India and the people of the world. Additionally, we are again appealing to our Nepali students to join the regular academics with immediate effect,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu stated that it has been following up with authorities of Odisha and with KIIT regarding Lamsal’s death and related developments.

Odisha Police has assured an objective, impartial and just investigation in the cases, said the embassy in a statement. The Odisha Police has shared a 24 x 7 helpline number (+91-8280338301) that Nepali students in need of assistance may use.

The Government of Odisha has conveyed its commitment to ensure safety, dignity and well-being of all students, including Nepali students, and that it will take all steps to ensure justice is served swiftly and fairly, said the embassy statement.

KIIT has withdrawn the ‘sine die’ (indefinite suspension) order and issued an appeal to Nepali students to return to campus and resume their classes and it has also set up a dedicated 24 x 7 control room to facilitate the return of Nepali students, the statement added. “The government of India will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the well-being of Nepali students in India,” the embassy said.