Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], February 21: Odisha Minister Sampad Chandra Swain announced on Friday that the state government has formed a high-level committee to probe the recent incident at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT). The KIIT founder, along with other concerned individuals, has been summoned as part of the investigation.
“The government is taking proactive measures. The KIIT founder and others involved have been summoned. A high-level committee has been established to conduct the investigation, and necessary actions will be taken once the report is received,” Swain told ANI.
Earlier in the day, KIIT Additional Registrar Shyam Sundar Behura shared updates on the situation, stating that Nepali students had started returning to the university and that the institution had maintained communication with their parents. He confirmed that the university had set up a dedicated control room to stay connected with the parents, and the students began returning from February 18. “The students, both boys and girls, have started returning, and we are in touch with their parents. The Vice Chancellor has been personally interacting with them through video conferences, and they are all reassured about sending their children back,” Behura explained.
Behura added that the university has resumed regular classes and assured that the necessary measures had been taken for the safety and well-being of the students. “The students are returning continuously, and we are taking all necessary steps to help them settle in. Classes have resumed, and everything is now normal,” he said.
This development follows the tragic death of a third-year B Tech student in her hostel room on February 16. Nepali students staged protests, alleging that she was harassed by a fellow student and that the college had not taken action despite multiple complaints. Police arrested the accused student, Advik Srivastava, on February 17, and he was sent to judicial custody on the same day, according to a statement from the Police Commissionerate, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack.
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