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New Delhi: Eight officials of the Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) were arrested by the Odisha Police for allegedly concealing information related to the suspected killing of a Class IX student -- Siba Munda -- after he was reportedly bullied by fellow inmates.
Three students allegedly connected to the death were detained and presented before the Juvenile Justice Board. They were categorised as children in conflict with law (CCL). Police said that statements from classmates and inmates of hostel revealed that the three accused students assaulted and strangled the victim on the night of December 11, 2025. KISS authorities reportedly told the deceased's parents that their son had suffered a cardiac arrest and died in a bathroom.
On Wednesday, police alleged that the boy was murdered by three of his classmates after a dispute over spilt dal. However, the institute had earlier claimed that he died after slipping in the hostel bathroom. There were some reports that said that his fellow inmates killed him after he refused to hand over a bucket in the toilet block.
His family staged a protest with the body outside the Keonjhar collectorate. They alleged that the residential school authorities concealed crucial facts and did not provide medical records clarifying the cause of death.
In his police complaint, Raghunath Munda, the boy’s father, claimed that KISS authorities contacted him on Friday morning and told him that his son had fallen sick and was admitted to hospital. The boy’s father alleged that no post-mortem examination was carried out before the body was handed over.
Infocity police station officers, investigating in the case, initially said that the boy was assaulted and strangled inside a hostel washroom after a spar over spilt dal. The assault, officers said, took place inside a washroom, where the victim was allegedly beaten and then strangled by three of his classmates.
Bhubaneswar Police commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said: “The CCL confessed to beating, throttling and strangling the deceased after he refused to hand over a bucket in the toilet block. The minors branded themselves as ‘joker’s gang’, written on the hostel wall. Several other inmates witnessed the crime. However, the eight KISS officials, including teachers and staff, intimidated the minor witnesses to conceal the crime.”
A report in Hindustan Times quoted a police officer as saying: “The post-mortem report indicated that it was a case of homicidal violence rather than an accidental fall as claimed by the KISS officials.” Seven doctors who operated on the boy are reportedly being interrogated.
Commissioner of Police Singh said: “After a detailed investigation and questioning hostel inmates, we found sufficient grounds to believe that this is a case of murder.” According to him, a post-mortem conducted in Keonjhar confirmed that the death was caused by pressure applied to the neck.
