The death of a 14-year-old class 9th student of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in Bhubaneswar has taken a serious turn as the police are now accusing the boy of being killed by his classmates. The death occurred last week when the boy slipped in the bathroom of the hostel, according to the institute.
The deceased was a native of the Tikargumura village in Keonjhar district and was identified as Siba Munda. He passed away on December 12 at KIMS Medical College Hospital in Bhubaneswar. After Munda’s death, his family protested in front of the Keonjhar collectorate with accusations against KISS of suppressing details about the occurrence.
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The police claim assault and strangulation
According to the Infocity police station, the investigating agency in the case, Siba was attacked and strangled inside the washroom of the hostel after a fight involving spilt "dal." Siba was first beaten up by three of his classmates, all of whom are minors, before he was strangled.
As per a report by Hindustan Times, a police officer requesting anonymity, “The post-mortem report indicated that it was a case of homicidal violence rather than an accidental fall as claimed by the KISS officials.”
The three suspected juveniles have been caught and produced in front of the Juvenile Justice Board in Khurda district. They were then transferred to a correctional home.
His father claims lack of transparency
Reportedly, in his police complaint, Siba's father, Raghunath Munda, asserted that he received a call from the authorities at KISS on Friday morning that his son was unwell and admitted to a hospital. He also complained that neither documents regarding treatment nor a statement about reasons for his death were provided by the institute or the hospital, as well as that no post-mortem test was done on his son's body prior to it being released.
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Arrests and inquiries by officials, doctors
In a press conference, Bhubaneswar Commissioner of Police Suresh Devdutt Singh revealed that eight members of the KISS have been arrested for intimidating minor witnesses and covering up facts about the case. Additionally, the police have revealed that they are questioning seven doctors who had been treating the minor victim as part of the investigation into the case.
Earlier, the Odisha State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights had issued a warning about taking tough action if a natural cause for the child’s death was not found.
