The KIIT School of Law's campus has been deserted for the past 10 days after all the students were sent back home around 3 am on November 25. But life is set to return to normalcy once classes resume on December 10 and end-semester examinations commence on December 14. On-campus placements too will be right on schedule, the authorities confirmed. KIIT engineering students of one hostel block, involved in the chaos, were also sent back home and have now been called back to campus.
The students will also sit for a meeting with the founder, Achyuta Samanta, to discuss the November 24 incident. "We have been asked to go back to college and have been assured that things will get back to normal after classes resume on December 10. Exams will start from December 14 and placements will also be on time," said a final-year law student. "Let's see what happens at the meeting with the founder."
The authorities said that they have taken precautionary measures to ensure that a similar situation does not arise in the future. "There is no denying that there was a riot-like situation on November 24 but we are taking precautions to avoid any such incident in the future," said Sradhanjali Nayak, Director, Public Relations. "An internal investigation committee is looking into the matter and necessary steps will be taken against those found responsible for the incidents on November 23 and 24. The engineering classes will also resume November 10 but their examination schedule is yet to be finalised. We do not want academics to be hampered in any way."
A female law student was eve-teased by a second-year B Tech Mechanical Engineering student on the evening of November 23 when she crossed the newly constructed men's hostel for the engineering departments. The engineering student apologised to the victim later that evening. The next day, engineering students, armed with stones, hockey sticks, cricket bats and the other usual instruments tried to break into the block that holds the four law school hostels in the afternoon. Later, it came to light that these boys were actually on their way to the girl's hostel to threaten the girls who had complained and that they had also planned to ransack and pelt stones at the hostel.
An FIR was also filed by the law students even though the authorities had discouraged that claiming it would destroy careers. Police and Rapid Action Force were deployed on the campus and the law hostels and the engineering hostel in question were evacuated by the wee hours of November 25.
