KATHMANDU: The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, has confirmed that authorities have launched an investigation into the death of Prisa Sah, a first-year B.Tech Computer Science student from Nepal.

In a statement issued by the university, KIIT said it received information from local police around 8:10 PM on Thursday regarding an alleged suicide. The university stated that Sah’s parents were immediately informed of the incident.

“In this hour of distress, the State Government extends its support to the family of the deceased and offers its condolences,” the statement read. It further mentioned that senior officials, including the Commissioner of Police and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, rushed to the scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident. A forensic team is currently on-site collecting evidence.

Meanwhile, Nepal’s Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana has initiated a diplomatic process to ensure a thorough investigation into Sah’s death, which occurred in her hostel room at KIIT.

Following the incident, Minister Rana announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had promptly engaged with senior officials from the Indian and Odisha state governments, as well as the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi, to press for a detailed inquiry.

Taking to Facebook, Minister Rana expressed her sorrow, writing: “Immediately after the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated diplomatic efforts through high-level officials of the Indian government, the Odisha state government, and the Nepali Embassy in Delhi to uncover the truth.”

She added, “The death of Prisa Sah, a Nepali student studying at KIIT University in Odisha, India, has deeply saddened me. I pray for the eternal peace of Prisa’s soul and express my deepest sympathies to her family during this painful time.”

According to Indian media, Sah was found unresponsive in her hostel room. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, and a postmortem examination is underway.

This is the second reported death of a Nepali student at KIIT in recent months. On February 4, 20-year-old Prakriti Lamsal from Rupandehi was also found dead in the same hostel where Sah had been staying.