The Infocity police have arrested five individuals in connection with the forcible eviction of Nepali students from hostels at KIIT University and produced them before the court of JMFC-II, Bhubaneswar.
The arrested, identified as Sibananda Mishra (59), Director General, HR, Pratap Kumar Chamupaty (51), Director (Admn.), and Sudhir Kumar Rath (59), Director of Hostels, at KIIT University, and two security guards- Ramakanta Nayak (45), and Jogendra Behera (25), were granted bail by the court on Tuesday evening.
A Nepali student named Prakriti Lamsal, who was studying at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, was found dead in her hostel room on February 16, 2025.
This has led to widespread protests by Nepali students, who claim that she was harassed by a fellow student. However, the talks with the protesting students failed, and they were immediately ordered to vacate the hostel and educational premises.
On February 17th, between 11 AM and 12:20 PM, while the students were in the process of vacating, the accused person suddenly arrived and insisted that they leave without delay. As the students took a little longer than expected to vacate, the accused grew angry and allegedly manhandled them, prompting the students to flee.
The police conducted an investigation and arrested five individuals in connection with the incident. During questioning, the accused confessed to their involvement in the crime. Further investigation is ongoing, said the Commissionerate Police.
Earlier today, police arrested Advik Srivastava, a 3rd-year B.Tech student, and booked for alleged abetment of suicide of Lamsal. Srivastava is now in judicial custody.
The Odisha government has set up a high-level fact-finding committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
