Police on Tuesday arrested the main accused in connection with the suicide of Nepali BTech student Prakriti Lamsal, 20, at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) deemed to be university.

The accused, Advik Srivastava, has been forwarded to judicial custody.

Srivastava, 21, a third-year BTech (Mechanical) student, is the deceased’s ex-boyfriend. He has been accused of abetting the suicide of Prakriti and arrested under Section 108 of the BNS. He was nabbed on the basis of the complaint filed by Prakriti’s cousin Siddhant Sigdel. Srivastava hails from Lucknow and is the son of a BJP leader who is also a builder.

Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh said, “Based on a complaint, we initiated an investigation. There is prima facie evidence of mental harassment. We have arrested the accused and sent him to judicial custody.”

Prakriti, who was pursuing a BTech in Computer Science, was aghast and heartbroken seeing Srivastava with another girl on Sunday and later committed suicide in the afternoon on Sunday. A purported video also appeared on social media in which Srivastava is heard using abusive language against Prakriti.

The situation on the KIIT campus turned ugly as students gathered and demanded action against Srivastava. The agitation continued throughout the night, with students protesting and resorting to road blockades. On Monday morning, the university asked the students to vacate their rooms and sent them to the railway station.

A video that surfaced on social media reportedly showed one of the employees asking Nepali students to pack up and leave the hostel while another made an insensitive remark about the university’s budget being larger than Nepal’s national budget.

As the issue escalated, the Vice-Chancellor of the university issued a letter of apology expressing regret. “We are regretful of the way some of us behaved with the agitating students. We love our students and have never done any disservice to them. The comments made by two of our officers are extremely irresponsible. Although the comments are made in their personal capacity on the spur of the moment, we do not support their action. We have removed them from service. They too have apologized for their behavior,” the letter said.

The university authorities removed one senior administrative officer of the International Relations Office (IRO) and two security guards for misbehaving with the students. The police arrested Ramakanta Nayak, 45, and Jogendra Behera, 25. All of them were forwarded to court.

The police on Monday arrested three more employees of KIIT for the alleged misbehaviour with students. Those who have been arrested by the police include KIIT University director general (HR) Shibananda Mishra, director (administration) Pratap Kumar Chamupaty and director of hostels, Sudhir Kumar Rath.

Additional registrar, KIIT, Dr. Shyam Sunder Behura said: “The students have started returning to the campus. Normalcy has been restored. We regret the entire episode.”

Father of the deceased, Sunil Lamsal, expressed faith in the administration, stating: “My daughter was harassed and emotionally blackmailed, which led her to take this drastic step. We had sent our daughter for higher education. But a tragic incident took place. The person who has been arrested is entirely responsible for the episode.”

Lamsal also criticised the behavior of certain university officials, stating: “They encourage students from Nepal to study here, but such treatment is unacceptable. This is not the right way to handle the situation. They have not done the right thing.”

The apology from the university followed the intervention of Nepal Prime Minister K. P. Oli who has assured to send two officials of the Nepal embassy in Delhi to Odisha.

Despite his grief, Sunil urged students to return to campus and focus on their studies. Expressing solidarity with the deceased, students of KIIT (deemed) University organised a silent protest rally. “We are not against the university but we demand a fair and transparent investigation. What hurt us the most were the insensitive remarks made by some staff of the university about our country,” said a student.

The incident also took a political turn with both the Opposition and ruling parties raising the issue at the Odisha Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. The Congress party has demanded a judicial probe while the Biju Janata Dal has stated that the incident has tarnished the state’s image.

The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by BJD member P. K. Deb who said the girl’s suicide and subsequent development brought shame to the state.

“The incident has brought down the name of Odisha at the international level,” Deb claimed.

He alleged that the incident was an outcome of the “worsening law and order situation” under the BJP rule in the state.

Senior Congress member Taraprasad Bahinipati demanded a judicial probe into the incident in which the Nepali girl was suspected to have died by suicide and several other students from the Himalayan country were allegedly assaulted by KIIT staff.

“It hurts when we find that the students from Nepal were harassed in Odisha. Our state has a long-standing relationship with Nepal. The treatment by KIIT authorities has strained Odisha’s relationship with Nepal,” Bahinipati said.

The Congress MLAs also threatened that he would stage a dharna in the Assembly if the chief minister did not order a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Probe committee

The Odisha government has constituted a high-level fact-finding committee to probe the suicide of a Nepali girl.

The government, in a statement, said: “The institution has been placed under notice, and appropriate legal and administrative action shall follow based on the basis of the findings of the High Level Fact Finding Team constituted by the Government.”

“Reports of misconduct including the use of force against students by private individuals are being investigated into, and those responsible, shall be accountable as per the law,” it said.

It said: “The Odisha government will take necessary steps to ensure that justice is being served swiftly and fairly.”

Additional reporting done by PTI