The Odisha government stated on Saturday that everyone accountable for the death of a Nepalese student at the private engineering institute KIIT, as well as the alleged assault on other Nepalese students, will be held responsible.
Congress activists organized a protest, calling for the immediate arrest of KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta.
A large group of youth and student activists gathered in front of the main gate of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), where they burned an effigy of Samanta.
A clash broke out between security personnel and Congress demonstrators as they tried to enter the KIIT campus.
The protest followed a day after Congress MLAs in the assembly urged for a judicial probe into the death of a 20-year-old Nepalese student and the alleged assault on other Nepalese students.
Odisha’s Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj assured that the state government is focused on taking strong action regarding the KIIT incidents.
He mentioned that the government is waiting for the results of a high-level committee and noted that eight senior KIIT officials, including its founder, have submitted their statements to the government panel about the incidents.
“Based on the findings of the committee, the government will initiate action,” Suraj said.
The police are also investigating the matter and at least 10 people including, bouncers, security guards and other officials of the institute, have been arrested so far, the minister said.
He mentioned that the police took action following evidence gathered from the CCTV footage.
On the death of the female student, the minister said that one individual has been arrested for abetment to suicide, and the police are investigating his involvement in harassing the student.
“The police have sent a viral audio clip for the voice spectrograph test to ascertain its authenticity,” the minister said, adding that if found true, a case under IT Act will also be framed against the accused.
During a press conference on Saturday, senior Congress leader and former Odisha chief secretary Bijay Patnaik claimed that there was "racial discrimination" at KIIT, as only Nepalese students were removed from the campus.
Patnaik also claimed that the staff of the private institute used derogatory language against Nepal, a country with close ties to India.
He further questioned the alleged "silence" of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the central government regarding the KIIT incidents.
“The KIIT should immediately be issued a show cause notice asking it to explain why its ‘Deemed to be University’ status would not be withdrawn for the racial and discriminatory activities,” he alleged.
Patnaik remarked that the KIIT incidents have damaged the state's image, and as a result, foreign students and their parents will be more cautious before choosing to send their children to study in Odisha.
He suggested that a special cell be set up at the governor’s house to handle complaints from foreign students.
Patnaik accused the KIIT founder of receiving support from the previous government due to his position as a BJD MP.
He further stated that the KIIT incident now presents a challenge for the new BJP government to demonstrate that it is distinct from the former BJD administration.
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