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Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year Bachelor of Technology student at the prestigious Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) located in Bhubaneswar, in the Eastern Indian state of Odisha, tragically took her own life on Sunday, February 15. Her body was found in her dorm room, sparking outrage and grief among her peers.
According to reports, twenty-year-old Prakriti had been a victim of persistent harassment by her boyfriend, who threatened to leak her intimate videos, yet her complaints were allegedly ignored by university authorities. This tragic incident raises serious questions about the institution’s failure to address students’ grievances effectively.
Indian social activist Chaitali Mukherjee posted on X Platform:
This is so shameful to witness how @KIITUniversity authorities stoping the outrage against Prakriti Lamsal's Suicide due to extreme harassment from her boyfriend & they are trying hard to suppress the voices seeking justice for her !!#JusticeForPrakriti#KIITUniversi pic.twitter.com/QT0RIrvre4
— Chaitali Mukherjee 🇮🇳 (@IamChaitali321) February 20, 2025
Following the incident, some other Nepali students organized a peaceful protest demanding a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Prakriti's death. However, students received a notice to immediately vacate the university campus on February 17th.
Adding to the controversy, videos surfaced online showing some university staff members making hateful and dismissive remarks about Nepali students. In one instance, they even compared the University's budget to Nepal's national budget. All the insensitive comments further fanned tensions. Below is the full video of the remarks made by the university staff:
The video went viral, drawing widespread condemnation. In response to the backlash, the staff members involved issued public apologies. Nepal also made diplomatic efforts to calm the situation by contacting the KIIT administration. After considerable efforts, the college issued an apology and requested that the students return to campus. Two security guards were subsequently arrested for assaulting protesting students.
The Odisha government has set up a high-level fact-finding committee to look into the circumstances surrounding Prakriti's death and the actions taken by KIIT authorities afterwards.
The tragic incident has garnered significant attention from the Nepali parliament, politicians, and fellow Nepalis, as well as many supporters in India. People from both countries have come forward to demand justice for Prakriti.
One Indian X user, Akassh Ashok Gupta, writes:
📢 Shocking! Nepali Students FORCED to Vacate After Protesting for Justice! #JusticeForPrakriti
A Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, was found dead in her KIIT University hostel, allegedly after facing harassment from her ex-boyfriend Advik. Instead of addressing the issue, KIIT… pic.twitter.com/r7SQMSbtIh
— Akassh Ashok Gupta (@peepoye_) February 17, 2025
Nepal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arzu Rana Deuba, wrote on X:
भारतको ओडिसास्थित कलिङ्गा इन्स्टिच्युट अफ इन्डस्ट्रियल टेक्नोलोजी (केआईआईटी) विश्वविद्यालयको होस्टेलमा नेपाली विद्यार्थी प्रकृति लम्सालको मृत्यु र त्यसपछि विकसित परिस्थितिका विषयमा हामीले निरन्तर फलोअप गरिरहेका छौँ । आज पनि मैले ओडिसाका हायर एजुकेशन मिनिस्टर सूर्यबंशी सुरजसँग…
— Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba (@Arzuranadeuba) February 19, 2025
We are continuously following up on the death of Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal in the hostel of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University in Odisha, India, and the situation that has developed since then. Today, I also spoke to Odisha's Higher Education Minister Suryavanshi Suraj on the phone. I urged him to ensure a fair investigation into Lamsal's death, take legal action against those responsible, and create a safe environment for Nepali students. He assured me that the Odisha government is taking the incident seriously, having formed a high-level committee to seek justice for Prakriti and hold the culprits accountable.
She also mentioned that a dedicated hotline has been set up for Nepali students and their parents to seek guidance amid the tumultuous times, and arrangements have been made for students who returned home to return to their hostels.
Every year, thousands of Nepali students travel to India to seek education, with India being one of the top destinations for higher education due to the proximity and quality of the institutions. According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report for 2021-2022, a total of 46,878 foreign students were enrolled in different Indian educational institutions, with Nepal contributing to the highest share, comprising 13,126 students (28 percent).
This heart-wrenching incident has not only sparked calls for justice for Prakriti but has also ignited critical discussions about the responsibilities of educational institutions to ensure the safety and well-being of their students, particularly those who are from international backgrounds.
