Class 9 student found dead at Odisha’s Kalinga Institute was murdered, officials attempted cover-up, police say

The student from Keonjhar was murdered on December 11 night allegedly by a ‘gang’ of fellow students following an altercation in the hostel. “The victim was allegedly assaulted and strangled inside a washroom by the three students (now detained),” said police sources.

KISS was founded by Achyuta Samanta, also the founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), in 1993. It provides free residential schooling to over 20,000 students from various parts of Odisha.

Police said as per the victim’s father, he received a phone call from KISS authorities on December 12 that his son had been admitted to Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) and Hospital, Bhubaneswar, for treatment. “Upon reaching KIMS, he found that the doctor had declared his son dead. The KISS authorities informed him that his son died of cardiac arrest. The authorities arranged an ambulance for taking the body to Keonjhar,” said Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S Dev Dutta Singh.

Injury marks on the neck made the victim’s family suspicious and they approached the police in Keonjhar and staged a protest demanding justice. A zero FIR was registered and a postmortem was conducted.

The post-mortem report mentioned external injuries on the neck, pointing to strangulation, said Singh. “The Infocity Police in Bhubaneswar received the zero FIR on December 13 and started an investigation. The scene of alleged crime was also sealed,” he said.

During investigation, classmates and hostel mates of the victim told the police about the involvement of three students, who confessed to beating and throttling.

Police said some doctors of KIMS were also questioned on handing over the body without informing the police.

The institute is yet to issue a statement on the arrest of eight officials.