Bhubaneswar, Feb 20: Achyuta Samanta, the Founder of KIIT & KISS, has been asked by the Higher Education Department, Govt of Odisha, Thursday to appear before the high level committee.

Samanta has been summoned for an inquiry in connection with the death of a Nepali girl student – Prakriti Lamsal – at her hostel room.

The office order from Higher Education Director Kali Prasanna Mohapatra, addressing Samanta, mentioned that the Govt’s high level committee will conduct an inquiry over the case.

“The High Level Committee has decided to conduct an inquiry into the alleged suicide of a student (indicating Prakriti’s death) and subsequent actions taken by the authorities of the University,” reads the office order.

Samanta has been asked to appear before the panel at 6.30 pm Friday at the Mini Conference Hall in the State Guest House, Bhubaneswar. He has also been asked “to adduce evidence and adequate documentary evidence before the Committee”.

Infocity Police Takes Accused On 3-Day Remand

In another development, the Infocity police have taken Prakriti’s estranged boyfriend and accused, Advik Srivastava, on a 3-day remand.

The voice spectrography test of the accused will be conducted by the state forensic department. The abusive audio directed to the girl along with the voice of the accused will be investigated.

The investigation will also include the photos and videos in possession of the accused, through which he was blackmailing Prakriti. Police have already recovered the mobile phone and laptop of the accused.

There are a lot of questions in everyone’s mind – What's in the mobile phone? Why did the accused leave Bhubaneswar? Did the accused talk to Prakriti before she decided to end her life?

The police will further interrogate the accused and all the answers will be found only after interrogation.

Case At A Glance

Notably, the deceased – Prakriti, who was a third-year BTech (Computer Science) student of the KIIT University – ended her life Sunday following constant harassment by her estranged boyfriend Advik, a student of B.Tech (Mechanical).

The students staged a protest demanding justice for the deceased. However, they were forcefully evicted from the campus and allegedly assaulted by the private university authorities.

The university drew flak from all the corners later issued an apology letter over the incident and urged the students to return to the campus.

Help Desk For Nepali Students

In a bid to ensure the safe return of the students of Nepal who left the campus and the welfare of other Nepali students who are currently staying at the KIIT Deemed University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha Higher Education Department announced the opening of a 24x7 help desk Wednesday.

The students can also contact the department officials for help on various phone numbers – 0674-2396550, 0674-2323401, 0674-2323402, 0674-2323403 – released by the department. A WhatsApp number (9124620605) has also been released by the Higher Education Department.

As per the office order, Higher Education Director Mohapatra will function as the Nodal Officer of the help desk, and Deputy Director Rajata Manasingh, will assist him in this regard. The Help Desk will also have with nine staffers who will be active round the clock. The order further noted that the help desk will start functioning with immediate effect.

Through the order, the Odisha Higher Education Department also urged the students and their parents to “reach out to the Help Desk for early return to the Institution for their academic pursuit”.

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