KIIT Founder, Other Officials Face Inquiry Before High Level Odisha State Panel

Achyuta Samanta, the founder of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and a former lawmaker, appeared before a high-level state panel on Friday evening as Odisha authorities deepened their investigation into the alleged suicide of a Nepalese engineering student and the subsequent mistreatment of her peers. The hearing, held at the state guest house in Bhubaneswar, marked a significant escalation in a case that has strained India-Nepal relations and sparked outrage over campus safety.

Samanta, once a prominent figure in the Biju Janata Dal party, arrived ahead of his 6:30 p.m. summons, a day after issuing a public apology to the parents of Nepalese students affected by the turmoil. The inquiry, led by Satyabrata Sahu, additional chief secretary of the Home Department, is probing the Feb. 16 death of the student, the alleged heavy-handed response by KIIT administrators, and the decision to suspend and evict a group of Nepalese students, effectively shuttering the institute for them indefinitely.

The panel, which also includes senior officials from the higher education and women and child development departments, had previously visited KIIT’s campus, where Nepalese students recounted being harassed by staff during protests over their classmate’s death. Elsewhere, two senior KIIT officials, Jayanti Nath and Manjusha Pande, faced the committee at 4 p.m. The pair, already suspended, were summoned after a viral video surfaced showing them allegedly mocking Nepal, boasting that KIIT’s budget dwarfed the nation’s and that it fed Nepalese students for free.

In Odisha’s Assembly, Congress lawmakers demanded Samanta’s arrest earlier Friday, holding him accountable for what they called a “fiasco” that has tarnished the institute’s reputation and highlighted broader concerns about the treatment of international students in India.