3 minors, 8 staffers held for tribal student’s murder

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police has taken three juveniles and eight teachers and staffers of a Bhubaneswar-based institute into custody in connection with the murder of a 14-year-old tribal student. 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 institute staffers were arrested for allegedly threatening witnesses not to reveal the incident to anyone.

“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, Singh said, adding that the institute 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.