Nepali student dies by suicide at Odisha university, triggers diplomatic row

A 20-year-old Nepali student was on Sunday found dead in the hostel of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha, triggering tensions on campus and a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Kathmandu, The Indian Express reported.

The third-year Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science student allegedly died by suicide due to a suspected “strained relationship” and the harassment allegedly she faced by a male batchmate on campus.

On Monday, the Bhubaneswar Police arrested the 21-year-old boy from Lucknow in connection with the alleged suicide. The first information report in the case alleges he was blackmailing the girl.

Meanwhile, about 500 Nepali students at the university claimed that they had been forcibly evicted from campus on Monday for protesting their batchmate’s death. The students blocked the road that leads to the university, accusing the administration of not acting despite the Nepali girl having sought help from the institute’s international students office about the harassment she allegedly faced.

As protests escalated, the university administration announced that the campus was closed for Nepali students, instructing them to vacate immediately, according to reports. Subsequently, the 500 Nepali students were instructed to board buses and were dropped at several railway stations for them to return home.

“The university is closed sine die for all the international students from Nepal,” NDTV…

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