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By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel

In 2011, a Hollywood movie, Cyberbully, was released. Directed by Charles Biname, the movie was unique and had a captivating storyline. The film centres on a girl constantly bullied by her classmates through social networking sites. Unable to bear the persistent harassment, she attempts to commit suicide by overdosing on the pills. But her friend saves her.

The incident that took place a few days ago at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Odisha, depicts a similar story. Like in the movie Cyberbully, student Prakriti Lamsal is constantly bullied by her classmate. She is regularly abused verbally and threatened with dire consequences. However, the girl in this case finally takes the extreme decision and ends her life owing to persistent harassment. It is said that the girl had repeatedly complained about the harassment to the university administration. But it was taken seriously. Result: the girl decided to cut her life short and committed suicide.

A resident of Butwal, Rupandehi district, Prakriti Lamsal, 20, was studying engineering at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology. But on the evening of last Sunday, she was found dead in her hostel room in a mysterious manner. She ended her life as she was subjected to prolonged harassment by her boyfriend. What is even worse is that when the students, mainly from Nepal, staged a peaceful protest demanding justice for the victim and her family, the hostel administration evicted them, and those who refused to leave were beaten by the security guards. The university took more than 500 Nepalese students to the railway stations in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack for expulsion, and they remained stranded there for several hours.

The peaceful protest video went viral on the social network. The video clearly shows the peaceful protest of the students. In the video, the staff members Manjusa Pandey and Jayanti Nath made derogatory remarks comparing the university’s budget and Nepal’s, sparking outrage. The utterance clearly indicates either staff members do not have comprehensive knowledge about GDP or they are conceited and arrogant. At the same time, their inhuman behaviour clearly suggested that students are not allowed to protest peacefully, demanding justice in a country where the greatest campaigner of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, was born.

One wonders why the students were not allowed to protest peacefully, demanding justice for the victims. One also wonders why the university administration did not take the repeated complaint against the harassment seriously, compelling Prakriti to end her life. The answer to this question is simple. The university seemed to cover the incident as it involved the son of a politician.

Following the widespread protest, our prime minister instructed two officials at the Delhi-based Nepalese Embassy to look into the issues seriously. Similarly, the agitation from the students—both Nepalese and Indian, the accused—Advik Shrivastav and six others were arrested, and a three-member fact-finding committee has been formed to investigate the issue.

Many fear that the investigation team will not carry out their responsibility with integrity and honesty. They suspect that the investigation team will experience political pressure and interference. The reason is not very big. It is simple. The accused in the case is the son of a Lucknow-based BJP leader in India. If the high-level probe team fails to work in the true spirit of service, the common people not only in Nepal but also in India will lose faith in India’s judiciary system.

In a country like ours, the political interference and pressure on the fact-finding team are nothing uncommon. The members of the team often experience political pressure not to carry out their job with honesty and integrity. There are several instances where the government forms a committee to probe into the matter. But the report is either fabricated or never revealed. In many cases, the committee is formed to pacify the irate protestors who deescalate the agitation thinking justice will be delivered. The case of Nirmala Pant- who was brutally murdered before being raped- is just one example. There are several others.

Unlike Nepal, India’s judiciary system is still vibrant and works independently without fervour and fear. It has a history of delivering justice, giving the impression that guilt—irrespective of its background—is subject to punishment. We hope it continues its tradition of delivering justice to the victim no matter who he/she is.

There is no doubt, that the move of the Indian government to arrest the accused and six others has subsided the protest in both countries for a while. It has also given the impression that law prevails in the country. But one thing is very clear: the students will stage even bigger protests if they smell a rat over the investigation process and functioning of the fact-finding committee.

This is really a tragic incident that should not have happened. The incident has sent chills down my nerves. After justice for the Nirbhaya case, many Indians have felt that their daughters were safe in their country. But the recent episode of Prkariti’s suicide has sent the message that daughters in India are still not safe. They often fall prey to the spoilt brat of the big mansion.

The persistent harassment forced her to take an extreme step and end her life. The incident cannot be undone. However, such a horrific situation can be prevented from occurring if justice is delivered. We hope that the Indian government will not leave any stone unturned to deliver justice. We also hope that it will be guided by the saying crime is crime no matter who has committed it.