Bhubaneswar: The Nepalese student who died by suicide at KIIT University in February had lodged a complaint of sexual harassment with the university authorities in March 2023, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj informed the Odisha Assembly on Friday.
Responding to a question from Congress MLA Dasarathi Gomanga, the Minister revealed that the engineering student had filed the complaint on March 12, 2023, nearly 11 months before her death. The 20-year-old student’s body was found in her hostel room on February 16, 2024. Police investigations suggest that she took the extreme step due to inaction on her sexual harassment complaint.
Minister Suraj stated that 19 persons have so far appeared before the high-level committee set up by the state government to investigate the student’s death and the subsequent harassment of protesters. The committee has recorded their statements. He also mentioned that KIIT University has submitted documents to the government regarding the formation of an internal committee as per University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.
In response to a query from BJP MLA Om Prakash Mishra, the Minister said that data on retired IAS, IPS, and other government officers working at KIIT, including their joining dates and salaries, is being collected. He also clarified that the Higher Education Department did not provide any grants to KIIT during the last financial year.
The student’s death had sparked widespread protests on the KIIT campus last month. The university authorities faced criticism for evicting protesting students and dropping them at Cuttack railway station without tickets, leading to public outrage. A day after the student’s death, a fellow student was arrested for alleged abetment to suicide.
