The tragic loss of Prakriti Lamsal, a 20-year-old BTech (third year) Computer Science student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KITT) in Bhubaneswar, has once again brought to the fore the issue of safety and security of Nepali students studying abroad, India in particular.

Details of what exactly happened on the KITT premises in the evening of February 13 remain quite sketchy, despite widespread media coverage in both India and Nepal as most of the students had gone to attend the institute’s foundation day.  Media reports, quoting friends and batchmates, suggest that the young girl from Butwal was in a toxic relationship with another BTech Mechanical (third year) student identified as Advik Shrivastava (21) from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Tapes of a conversation between the two have surfaced, giving an indication of the extent of abuse that the young girl may have been facing for quite some time, something which some of her friends have also alluded to.

As the case unfolds, there are ample reasons to believe that this tragic loss of life may have gone unnoticed had some of her courageous friends not dared to share it with media outlets despite considerable threats to their well-being via a messaging app.

These reports also suggest that the abusive and unhealthy relationship was no secret for the institute in question as the young, courageous and bright girl had lodged her complaint against the abuser at the International Relations Office. The office intervened to an extent, but there is every reason to believe that it could have done a lot more to protect an international student with hardly any support system in the host country from an abusive relationship.

On the contrary, its staff, including teachers, made a desperate attempt to cover up the entire incident by seeking to silence fellow students demanding justice through unsavory words against Nepal and the use of brute force. As part of that attempt, they forced hundreds of protesting Nepali students to leave the facility, threatening to unleash police against them if they did not oblige.

With no money to foot their travel expenses, hundreds of Nepali students are on their way home amid an appeal (and apologies) from the institute to return for the resumption of their studies even as smoke from their friend’s funeral pyre billows in a faraway Swargadwari (Pyuthan district) just days after her aggrieved father demanded justice and fair treatment for Nepali students in the pilgrimage town of Bhubaneshwar.

Amid a never-ending news cycle, this story may get lost with the government of Nepal already feeling, perhaps, that it has done enough in this case and the institute also thinking that token steps like a scholarship honoring the student and action against some of its loudmouths will restore its reputation.

If our government thinks that a phone conversation or two and a dispatch of officials from the embassy in New Delhi are enough in a case like this, it is mistaken. The traumatized students may hesitate to return to the institution out of safety concerns. Who will be responsible for the impact of this incident on their studies and their future?

Who, if not the government of our country, will make sure that the young girl and her family get justice?

The government should move ahead with extreme sensitivity, keeping in mind that any leniency on its part may expose Nepalis studying abroad to greater risks in the coming days.