3 minors, 8 staffers held in tribal student's murder at Bhubhaneswar institute

Bhubaneswar, Dec 18 (PTI) The Odisha Police have taken three juveniles and eight teachers and staffers of Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) into custody in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old tribal student, a senior officer said.

The three juveniles were taken into custody for allegedly strangling the boy to death for refusing to share his bucket with them in the washroom. They were booked under Section 106(1) BNS and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh told reporters on Wednesday.

The KISS staffers, including an additional CEO and two teachers, were arrested for allegedly threatening witnesses not to reveal the incident to anyone, destroying evidence and harbouring the offenders, he said.

"The class 9 student was strangulated to death on the night of December 11 after he refused to share his bucket with some others in the washroom," the officer said.

Singh said the boy's body was handed over to his father and told that he died after falling in the toilet.

However, the investigation revealed that he was killed by a group of students, he said, adding that KISS authorities also did not inform the police regarding the murder.

"Post-mortem examination revealed external injuries on the neck, indicating compression with a rough and tough ligature material. Classmates and hostel mates of the deceased also said that three CCLs (child in conflict with law) were involved in the incident," he said.

The police commissioner said that a case of unnatural death was registered at the Infocity police station after it received a Zero FIR from Keonjhar Town police station.

The deceased's father lodged a complaint at Keonjhar Town police station on December 13, alleging that his son was killed and did not die accidentally as claimed by KISS.

His father, in the FIR, mentioned that on December 12, he received a call from KISS informing him that his son had been admitted to Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) for treatment. Upon reaching the hospital, he found that the doctor had declared his son dead.

While the students have confessed to beating, throttling and strangulating the boy, the authorities, including teachers and staffers, were found to have intimidated and threatened minor witnesses to conceal the crime, the commissioner claimed.

The eight KISS officials were booked under Sections 103 (1) (murder), 238 (disappearance of evidence), 296 (obscene acts), 232 (threatening any person to give false evidence), 249(a) (harbouring offender), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of BNS, read with Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

While the three minors were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, the eight KISS officials were produced before a court, which sent them to judicial custody.

The tribal boy's death had created outrage in Keonjhar district, with locals agitating outside the collector's office with the body on December 13, demanding justice. PTI AAM ACD SOM