Bhubaneswar: Police Monday arrested Advik Srivastava, the “ex-boyfriend” of Nepali student Prakriti Lamsal who was found dead Sunday evening in the hostel campus of KIIT University in Bhubaneswar.
A police official said, “The family members of the deceased have been notified. The accused has been arrested and is currently being questioned. Further investigation is underway to determine the circumstances that led to the girl’s death.”
Prakriti, a third-year B.Tech student at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), allegedly suffered harassment at the hands of Srivastava, according to her classmates.
The deceased’s cousin lodged a complaint at Infocity police station in Bhubaneswar alleging that his sister hanged herself in her hostel room Sunday. He suspected that Advik Srivastava was blackmailing his sister for which she committed suicide.
Following the incident, protests erupted near the campus, with students demanding a transparent investigation.
Many students from Nepal assembled on the KIIT campus Sunday night and staged demonstrations demanding justice. Two platoons of police force were deployed to maintain law and order situation on the campus.
According to KIIT officials, the university had discussions with the agitating Nepali students and has since sent them home to de-escalate tensions. “Keeping in view the situation, the Nepal students have been sent to their respective homes. The situation presently remained calm,” the KIIT statement said.
KIIT Registrar Gyanaranjan Mohanty acknowledged Lamsal’s death in a video interview Monday. He added that upon receiving information about the incident, they immediately informed the police and the hospital.
The university issued a notice ordering all international students from Nepal to vacate the campus immediately. “The University is closed Sine Die for all the international students from Nepal. They are hereby directed to vacate the university campus immediately today February 17, 2025.”
A Twitter user @Twi_Swastideep shared a video and claimed that “KIIT security guards were beating protesting Nepali students.” However, OrissaPOST could not verify the authenticity of the video.
🚨Shocking 🚨
KIIT personal security guards are beating up some Nepali Students while they are protesting peacefully about the suicide case.#kiituniversity #PrakritiLamsal
Video 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/p3VDUMjJ1O— CricFreak69 (@Twi_Swastideep) February 17, 2025
In a viral video that has surfaced online, a group of Nepali students can be seen confronting the international students in charge of the university on the issue.
A Thread 🧵
A nepali girl from KIIT University commited suicide due to continuous harrasment from a 3rd year students and negligence from administration in taking https://t.co/M13Sm7WvhJ in this video,group of Nepali students are confronting the International Students incharge. pic.twitter.com/PtsG34widJ
— Melody Man🎀 (@melodi_man) February 17, 2025
In another viral video clip, purportedly from the same hostel where the deceased lived, captures intense moments of heated discussions between teachers and students.
University suppressing this matter
Please guys do something pic.twitter.com/6yn9p9P02m— Melody Man🎀 (@melodi_man) February 17, 2025
One student said that Advik tried to flee Bhubaneswar February 16. The student accused the university of attempting to “suppress the issue”, alleging that Prakriti had sought help from the International Relations Office a month earlier, reporting abuse and mental harassment.
The deceased’s father and uncle, who arrived in Bhubaneswar from Nepal Monday, said they demand justice for Lamsal.
Lamsal’s father said she had spoken to her mother at 2:51 pm Sunday. He suspected she was mentally tortured and said the truth would be clear once the evidence was revealed.
A purported phone recording between the two parties has emerged and spread widely online. OrissaPOST has not been able to verify the authenticity of the audio clip. The recording appears to capture Advik Srivastava verbally abusing the female victim with profanity and demeaning language, while she can be heard crying several times throughout the call as he continues his verbal assault.
Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Prakash Chandra Pal said that the police were maintaining law and order both inside and outside the campus.
“The police have sealed the deceased girl’s room and kept the body at the mortuary till the arrival of her parents,” a varsity official said.
Meanwhile, two busloads of Nepali students were dropped at the Cuttack Railway Station Monday.
“We were told to vacate hostel room and dropped at the railway station. We had to appear for examination February 28…” a male student told reporters at the Cuttack railway station.
Meanwhile, students from other states alleged that they were not allowed to go outside the hostel by private security guards of the varsity.
A video shared by X user Hemant Naidu alleged that students’ phones were taken away. The person recording the video can be heard saying, “We are all being suppressed.”
My friend from KIIT shared this video. https://t.co/5uDYMWsc4M pic.twitter.com/dAC4dXZF9P
— Hemant Naidu (@TeluguInvader) February 17, 2025
The KIIT authorities refused to comment on the allegations made by the students that they were not allowed to go outside the hostel.
PNN & Agencies
