Nepali student suicide: NHRC recommends UGC to initiate action against KIIT

Bhubaneswar, March 27 (IANS) Trouble mounts for the KIIT University in connection with the suicide of a Nepali female student in its campus on February 16 as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday recommended the Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) to initiate requisite action against the private educational institution and its sister concern Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS).

The action has been recommended for violating the NHRC guidelines related to sexual harassment and gender sensitisation on the campuses.

The commission on Thursday also asked the chairman of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to examine the issue of violations of UGC guidelines and human rights like anti-ragging, Internal Complaint Committee for sexual harassment at workplace by the KIIT university and submit an Action Taken Report to the commission.

Besides, the commission has also directed the Chief Secretary of Odisha to submit ATR on the issue of negligence on the part of the authorities of the private university leading to the suicide of the Nepali student and violations of various constitutional rights of the victim.

The Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate, has also been asked to submit updated investigation report in the case of girl’s suicide registered at the Infocity police station.

The Apex rights body has issued the recommendations on the basis of the report of NHRC's Spot Inquiry Team which found the authorities of KIIT University violating various constitutional rights of the deceased girl on issues related to sexual harassment and access to higher education, etc.

As per the directions of the commission, the team visited the campus of KIIT University and KISS in Bhubaneswar between March 6 and 8 for an on-spot inquiry into the suicide of Nepali female student and the allegations of various irregularities at the university.

The inquiry team in its report revealed that the deceased Nepali girl student made a complaint on March 12, 2024, to KIIT’s International Relations Office (IRO) in which she had written about undergoing severe mental stress and also had threatened her estranged boyfriend, Advik Shrivastava of committing suicide if he does not delete her objectionable photos.

The team also ascertained that the IRO of university just get undertakings from the victim and the alleged accused and neither referred the issue to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the institution nor reported the matter at the local police station.

"It is evident that the conduct of the IRO and University officers/disciplinary committee and college authorities sufficient to show that there is gross negligence and omission on their part IRO and University authorities which may treated amount to act of abetment to commit suicide on the part of the university officials, which finally resulted in her suicide,” observed the commission.

The Commission also observed that the university officials have admitted the fact that almost 1,000-1,100 students had left their hostel on February 17, whereas almost 180 girl students left the hostel in such a haste which may lead to some other untoward incident, but college authorities did not bothered safety of girl students and they were thrown out from campus.

"Regrettably, the University was unrepentant and even had the audacity to reply that there had been no merit in the allegations. This manifests sheer insensitivity, if not downright arrogance,” noted the NHRC.

Besides, the apex rights body also directed the Khordha Collector to submit ATR over the non-compliance of recommendation made by the Khordha Child Welfare Committee on July 6, 2017 regarding irregularities in the (KISS). The CWC had recommended the district collector to form a joint inquiry committee to investigate the irregularities including overcrowding, unclean facilities, and lack of basic amenities at KISS.

--IANS

gyan/pgh