The death of a Class IX student of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), earlier described as a heart attack, was a case of murder, police said on Wednesday.
The boy was allegedly beaten and strangulated to death by his classmates inside the bathroom of his hostel, police commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh said at a news conference. Eight KISS officials have been arrested for allegedly concealing the crime, while three minors have been apprehended in connection with the murder.
The deceased, Siba Munda, hailed from Tikarguma village in Keonjhar district. His father, a daily wage labourer, said his son had spoken to him just two days before the incident and planned to return home later this month.
“It is a murder case. The authorities had earlier claimed the boy died of a heart attack, but our investigation has found that he was murdered,” the commissioner said.
According to police, the deceased was a victim of bullying. “He did not comply with a group of students who had formed a gang. The three minors, all classmates of the deceased and classified as Children in Conflict with Law (CCLs), confessed to beating, throttling and strangulating him on the night of December 11 after he refused to give a bucket in the toilet block,” Singh said.
The commissioner said several KISS authorities, including teachers and staff, attempted to conceal the crime by intimidating and threatening minor witnesses. “We have arrested eight officials, including the additional CEO of KISS, for threatening witnesses, causing disappearance of evidence and harbouring the accused,” he said.
The three minors have been apprehended under Section 103 (1)/3/(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The commissioner said the deceased’s father, Raghunath Munda, lodged a complaint stating that on December 12 he received a phone call from KISS authorities informing him that his son had been admitted to KIMS Medical College for treatment. “When he reached KIMS Bhubaneswar, doctors declared his son dead. The father noticed injury marks on the neck and suspected foul play,” Singh said.
Despite visible injuries, the body was handed over to the family with the claim that the boy had died of a heart attack. “We received the FIR on December 13 and began the investigation immediately,” the commissioner said.
The post-mortem examination revealed external injuries on the neck indicating compression by a rough and tough ligature material, confirming homicidal death. A special team was formed to expedite the probe.
Police have also questioned doctors at KIMS, the hospital run by KIIT, a deemed-to-be university, where the boy was taken for treatment. “We are examining the role of KIMS authorities, particularly the claim of heart attack,” the commissioner said.
The case was initially registered at Keonjhar after the family staged a protest outside the office of the Keonjhar collector, alleging murder. The FIR was later transferred to the commissionerate police for investigation.
KISS authorities have not issued any official statement. Earlier, insiders had claimed the student was suffering from dysentery, fell in the hostel bathroom on Thursday and later died at KIIMS on Friday.
Chairperson of the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSPCR) Babita Patra, who visited KISS, said there were lapses on the part of the institute’s management.
A senior KIIT official said the institute would not comment as the matter is under police investigation.
