Second Nepal student suicide at KIIT prompts UGC to announce fact-finding panel

In a statement it issued, the UGC said the panel — to be headed by Nageshwar Rao, former vice-chancellor of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) — would not only look into the two deaths but will also ensure compliance with student welfare and safety regulations and also suggest measures to prevent such incidents.

In addition, it has also been mandated to evaluate KIIT University’s mental health support system including counselling services and crisis intervention frameworks, the UGC said in a statement.

The latest suicide and the UGC announcement comes just over two months after another engineering student from Nepal was found dead in her hostel room, sparking protests from the institute’s students and leading the police to arrested her batchmater on charges of abetment to suicide.

According to estimates, KIIT has over 1,000 students from the country at present.

Following the latest incident , the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement that it is in “constant touch” with the Odisha government over the latest incident. The Odisha government has said it had extended “full support” to the family of the deceased, and a thorough enquiry is currently being conducted by the state police, a statement issued by the MEA said.

This came after Nepal’s foreign affairs minister Arzu Rana Deuba said that his ministry had initiated diplomatic efforts after the incident and was coordinating with the Government of India, senior officials of the state government and Nepali Embassy in Delhi to look into the incident.

“Government of India takes the safety, security and well-being of all international students very seriously. We remain in close contact with the Nepali authorities, the Odisha State Government as well as KIIT management to ensure real-time communication and coordination in this matter,” read the statement.

Meanwhile, the Infocity police in Bhubaneswar has registered an unnatural death case. The body has been kept for post-mortem at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

Although police said they did not find any suicide note from the deceased’s hostel room, Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena had told the media earlier that the student’s mobile phone and laptop had been sent for forensic analysis.

Speaking with reporters, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the police have already started a probe.

“Appropriate action will be taken after a preliminary probe,” Harichandan said.