Bhairahawa, Feb. 23 -- Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year B-Tech student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Odisha, India, was set to graduate in just a year and a half. In a phone conversation with her mother, Saru, a week and a half ago, Prakriti excitedly shared her plan to surprise her father with a car, promising that once she completed her studies, she would earn enough to make it happen.

Unable to hold her excitement, Prakriti's mother, Saru, eagerly shared it with her husband, Sunil. "She said she would surprise you with a car once she started earning," Saru told him. But within just 10 days, their dream was shattered when they heard the heartbreaking news that Prakriti was found dead in her hostel room at the...