The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Nepal’s embassy has sent two officials to counsel Nepali students at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar, Nepal’s prime minister announced on Monday (February 17) soon after Kathmandu said it had intervened in the students’ removal from campus.
KIIT officials asked the students to leave after a Nepali woman student died on campus on Sunday in a suspected case of suicide and some students from the country staged protests in response, media reports said.
The Nepali embassy in New Delhi said that KIIT arranged for Nepali students to live and study in the university after being requested to do so, as per a machine translation of its statement.
K.P. Sharma Oli, the country’s prime minister, said on X that arrangements were also made for Nepali students to go back home if they so choose.
KIIT on Monday appealed to Nepali students to return to campus.
As per PTI, the university administration said the woman student died by suicide in her hostel on Sunday.
It also said the woman could have died by suicide because of “a personal dispute” with a male student she was “believed” to have been in a relationship with, the Indian Express reported. The male student was taken into police custody for questioning, the university said.
Some Nepali students staged a protest outside campus alleging that the woman had complained to the university’s international relations office regarding harassment by a batchmate but that the administration did not act, the newspaper added.
The university reportedly declared itself closed sine die – that is, until further notice – for all Nepali students and ordered them to vacate campus on Monday.
The Hindu reported that over 500 Nepali students were forced to leave and that the university bussed students to Cuttack railway station so they could go home. Several students did not have train tickets, according to the newspaper.
But KIIT later publicly appealed to its “Nepali students who have or plan to leave the campus to return and resume the classes”.
Soon after, Nepal’s foreign ministry publicly posted a communique by its India embassy saying it had successfully requested KIIT to accommodate the Nepali students on campus. It added that the university had committed to insisting on an “independent and impartial” probe into the woman’s death.
“The students are encouraged to return to the campus and will participate in the normal academics which shall be restored very soon. Their academic aspects will not be disturbed during this period and will be taken care of by the university. Accordingly, the temporary suspension of the academic classes and hostels is immediately withdrawn,” The Hindu also quoted KIIT as saying.
If you know someone – a friend or a family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of phone numbers they can call to speak in confidence. The TeleManas helpline, a government helpline, functions 24×7; its number is 1-800 891 4416 or 14416. You could also take them to the nearest hospital.