UGC Panel Blames KIIT's 'Unlawful' Acts For Students' Suicides, Says Admin 'Liable For Criminal Punishment'

A UGC panel has blamed KIIT for two student suicides, citing "illegal and unlawful" activities, including forced compromises in sexual harassment cases and a lack of transparency.

Two students from Nepal were found dead in their hostel rooms at KIIT, Bhubaneswar. A 20-year-old was found hanging from the ceiling in May, while another student, Prakriti Lamsal died by suicide on February 16.  

Source : PTI

The fact-finding panel set up the University Grants Commission (UGC) blamed the "illegal and unlawful" activities by Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneshwar for the suicides of two students, stating that the actions of the administration "amount to criminal liability". The panel also noted that the "suicides could have been averted".

A 20-year-old Nepalese student of KIIT was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room. Another Nepalese student, Prakriti Lamsal, of the same institute, died by suicide on February 16.  

The panel, constituted in May by the UGC after the 20-year-old's death, said in its report that the university did not follow transparency during the investigation and did not take any action against the accused despite having the power to do so.

The report noted that the university "favoured" the acused boy by forcing an "illegal compromise" with the girl, which led to her suicide.

"The university's internal complaints committee (ICC) failed to take lawful action in reported sexual harassment cases. There was no transparency that the protocols for the investigation were followed. The girl had made complaints to the administration twice, much before this tragic incident. In both complaints, they decided to go for an illegal compromise," the UGC report said.

The UGC panel found serious lapses in infrastructure and governance, prioritising the university's reputation over regulations, ignorance of complaints of sexual harassment and law of land and international relations of the country, among the "illegal and unlawful activities" on the university's part.

In addition to the findings, the committee also issued a set of recommendations, based on which the commission is contemplating a freeze on the university’s expansion and departmental action against erring officials, among others.

It also observed that ICC members and senior administrative personnel of the university "are liable for criminal punishment as per law". "Had KIIT University taken action to decide the reported harassment case as per law in the first case, the tragedy could have been avoided," it said.

"The absence of a robust security framework allowed unchecked misconduct… We recommend that the university be issued strict directions and its compliance be reviewed with a physical revisit," the report added.

Following Lamsal's death, angry students began protesting on campus, demanding justice for her. They also alleged that the university had ignored complaints of harassment. When tensions continued to escalate, the KIIT forcibly evicted over 500 Nepali students from the university.

The UGC panel was headed by Nageshwar Rao, former Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University, with Sunita Siwach, Joint Secretary of the UGC, serving as the Coordinating Officer of the Committee. Its members included Shasikala Wanjari, Vice Chancellor of the National Institute of Planning and Administration and HCS Rathore, former Vice Chancellor of the Central University of South Bihar.