Nepal human rights panel urges Indian counterpart to ensure justice for KIIT student

Nepalese student’s death at KIIT university: It urged India’s NHRC to ensure security for the Nepalese students and ensure that they can study in a fear-free environment, besides bringing the university officials and individuals involved in the incident to book.

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal has urged its Indian counterpart to investigate the unnatural death of a 20-year-old student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar and ensure justice for her.

The alleged death by suicide of B. Tech student Prakriti Lamsal and the subsequent attack on protesting Nepalese pupils at KIIT and their eviction from the campus created a furore, prompting the Nepal government to intervene in the matter.

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Nepal NHRC, in a press release, said it has written to the National Human Rights Commission of India requesting it to probe the suspicious death of the woman, who hailed from Kathmandu, and provide speedy justice to the students who were allegedly beaten up and mistreated at KIIT.

It urged India's NHRC to ensure security for the Nepalese students and ensure that they can study in a fear-free environment, besides bringing the university officials and individuals involved in the incident to book.

Based on the complaints received, the commission also sought information from the Nepal Embassy in India about the incident and the condition of the students, the release said.

As it was reported that Nepalese students who were forced to leave the campus due to the circumstances arising from the suicide are still unable to return in a fear-free environment, the commission urges the Government of Nepal to take further diplomatic initiatives in this regard and create an environment where students can study, it said.