Bhubaneswar: An NHRC team, which is probing into the death of a 20-year-old Nepalese girl student at the KIIT University here, has met senior police officers of the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissionerate.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team began its inquiry into the incident on Thursday, and would continue the exercise on Friday, they said.
During the day, they could meet senior KIIT officials and its founder Achyuta Samanta, the officials said.
“We have met the NHRC team at the state guest house and gave all pertinent information to them. A liaison officer has been specifically assigned to support and facilitate the ongoing investigation by the rights panel,” Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh told reporters here.
He along with Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena met the rights panel representatives on Thursday night.
They have offered all cooperation to the NHRC team members and apprised them of the situation, under which the girl allegedly died by suicide, another official said.
The NHRC team members were also informed about violence on the campus after the death of Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year Computer Science student at KIIT, he said
The NHRC inquiry team, led by its Registrar (Law) Joginder Singh, spent nearly five hours at the KIIT University campus where Lamsal’s body was recovered on February 16 evening.
The team members interacted with the deceased girl’s friends, her hostel inmates and some officials of the KIIT, who allegedly misbehaved with the Nepalese students.
As directed by the rights panel, the team would also look into alleged attacks on Nepalese students by the staff of the private institute.
The commission has asked the team to submit its findings by March 10.
The state government has also constituted a three-member committee headed by the additional chief secretary (home) to look into the matter.
Meanwhile, Odisha govt has formed a Professors” panel to ensure academic environment at KIIT varsity.
Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said the government also summoned six more officials of the private institute to record their statements on the death of the undergraduate woman and the subsequent attack on Nepalese students of the institute.
The minister was replying to a written question of Congress member Taraprasad Bahinipati.
To safeguard students’ academic interests and resume classes smoothly, the Higher Education Department has constituted a special committee, comprising two senior professors from Utkal University and two from Rama Devi Women’s University. This committee members will visit KIIT every 15 days for the next three months to monitor the academic environment and later visit the campus every month,” the minister said.
The state government has already set up a high-level committee headed by the additional chief secretary (home) to probe into the KIIT incidents, the minister said.
As many as 14 top KIIT officials, including its founder Achyuta Samanta, have deposed before the panel.
The committee also comprises the principal secretaries of the Women and Child Development Department and the Higher Education Department.
The minister informed the assembly that the high-level committee had, on March 6, summoned the director of student affairs, director general of international relations and the director of administration of KIIT for questioning.
In addition to the three top officials, three students of KIIT University have also been instructed to attend the hearing, he said.
The minister also informed the House that the high-level committee had visited the KIIT campus on February 18 and inspected both boys’ and girls’ hostels.
The panel members reviewed measures taken by the authorities for the safe return of Nepalese students, he said.
Suraj said that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and he held discussions with the Nepalese ambassador and senior officials of that country, and assured them that students would not face further hindrance in continuing their studies in the varsity.
The minister also informed the House that the state’s Higher Education Department has set up a 24×7 helpdesk to facilitate the safe return of Nepalese students to the institute.
This desk is equipped with four landline numbers and a WhatsApp number, he said.
