A 20-year-old Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, committed suicide at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on Sunday (Feb 16), which led to widespread protests and raised diplomatic concerns. 

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Lamsal was a third-year BTech student. She was found dead in her hostel room on Sunday, with allegations surfacing that she had been harassed and blackmailed by a fellow student, Advik Srivastava. 

Police on Feb 16 detained Srivastava outside the Biju Patnaik International Airport, with reports claiming he was attempting to leave the city. 

Also read: Student arrested over Nepal girl's death, police says primary investigation points to victim's harassment

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Srivastava has been arrested and booked under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for abetment of suicide. Police also seized his mobile phone and laptop for forensic examination. 

On Tuesday, her father claimed that the private engineering college had mistreated students from the neighbouring country. 

This comes after the KIIT faced accusations of evicting a group of Nepali students from their hostel. 

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Also read: Good relationship with India, No loans under BRI planned: Nepal FM Deuba

After the incident came into the limelight, social media was flooded with posts suggesting that Prakriti had been harassed by her ex-boyfriend. Later, her cousin filed a complaint, saying that a male student at the university had been blackmailing her, which led her to take her own life. 

Protests demand arrest of boy

After Prakriti died, students, especially from Nepal, took to the streets, demanding the arrest of the boy for mistreating Prakriti. 

The embassy then contacted both KIIT authorities and the Odisha government about the incident. 

Following the incident, over 500 Nepali students at KIIT were told to leave the campus. 

Nepal PM reacts

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli issued a statement, saying that the embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students affected in Odisha. 

"Additionally, arrangements have been made to ensure they have the option to either remain in their hostel or return home, based on their preference," he added. 

Institute issues apology letter 

The institute issued a letter of apology for the incident that took place on the campus. Further, they also asked Nepali students to return and resume their classes. 

"There was an unfortunate incident which took place late in the evening yesterday on the KIIT campus. Immediately after the incident, police investigated the matter and apprehended the culprit. The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy in the campus and hostels to resume the academic activities," the statement read.

(With inputs from agencies)