Bhubaneswar, Dec 18: Odisha Police on Wednesday took three juveniles and eight teachers and staff members of the Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) into custody in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old tribal student, senior police officials said.
Police said the Class 9 student was allegedly strangled to death on the night of December 11 after a dispute with his hostel mates over sharing a bucket in the washroom. The three juveniles, identified as children in conflict with law (CCLs), have been booked under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, Bhubaneswar Commissioner of Police S. Dev Datta Singh told reporters.
The eight arrested KISS officials—including an additional CEO and two teachers—have been accused of threatening witnesses, destroying evidence and harbouring the offenders. They have been booked under multiple sections of the BNS, including murder, disappearance of evidence, criminal intimidation and harbouring offenders, read with provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
“The student was strangulated to death after he refused to share his bucket in the hostel washroom. However, the authorities initially claimed that he died after falling in the toilet,” Singh said. He added that the victim’s body was handed over to his father with the explanation that it was an accidental death, but subsequent investigation revealed it to be a case of murder. The KISS authorities also failed to inform the police about the incident, he said.
A post-mortem examination revealed external injuries on the neck, indicating compression by a rough ligature material. Statements from classmates and hostel inmates confirmed the involvement of three juveniles in the assault, police said.
The case came to light after the victim’s father lodged a complaint at Keonjhar Town police station on December 13, alleging that his son had been killed. He stated that on December 12 he received a call from KISS informing him that the boy had been admitted to Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), where doctors later declared him dead.
While the three juveniles have been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a correctional home, the eight KISS officials were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.
The incident triggered widespread outrage in Keonjhar district, where locals staged protests outside the collector’s office with the body on December 13, demanding justice for the deceased tribal student.
