KIIT suspends 3 officials, issues apology over evicting Nepali students during protest
PTC News Desk: The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology(KIIT) has suspended three officials including two hostel staffers for misbehaving with some Nepali students and coercing them into evacuating campus during a protest over 20 year old Nepali student.
The institution while issuing apology also said that two security officials were also fired and a control room has been set up in order to ensure the return of the Nepali students.
In a statement on Tuesday, the institute said, "KIIT authorities and the entire staff deeply regret the incident that occurred on February 16. Two security staff were terminated immediately. Two senior hostel officials and one senior administrative officer of the International Relations Office (IRO) were suspended."
The protests erupted at KIIT after Prakriti Lamsal, a third year B Tech student was found dead in her hostel room on Sunday evening. The incident triggered a massive demonstration inside the campus by over 500 Nepali students. However the matter took an ugly turn when authorities allegedly forcibly evict some students from the campus, leading to diplomatic intervention.
The private engineering institute also apologised for certain insensitive remarKs made by some of the officials during the tensions. A video of one official allegedly comparing KIIT's spending on students to Nepal's budget went viral, sparking outrage.
"For our staff, we recognise that certain comments were made in the heat of the moment, and we apologise for any distress caused," KIIT said.
The protesting Nepali students have alleged that Lamsal had complained about being harassed by her batchmate. The batchmate has been detained by the police.
- PTC NEWS
