Student at KISS school reportedly killed by known bullies over bucket; three detained

Odisha Police arrested eight officials of the city-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) for allegedly suppressing information related to the suspected killing of a Class IX student following bullying by fellow inmates.

Three students allegedly involved in the death were also detained and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board as children in conflict with law. The Police Commissioner held a press conference to address the issue.

KISS, founded by former Biju Janata Dal Member of Parliament Achyuta Samant, is widely described as the world’s largest residential educational institution for tribal children, and reportedly houses 30,000 students.

According to police, statements from classmates and hostel inmates revealed that the three accused students assaulted, throttled and strangulated the victim on the night of December 11, 2025, after he refused to hand over a bucket in the toilet block.

On December 12, KISS authorities reportedly informed the victim’s parents that their son had died of cardiac arrest in a bathroom. The body was handed over to the family, who were persuaded to take it to their village in Keonjhar district for the last rites.

Injury marks

However, upon reaching the village, the parents and relatives noticed injury marks on the neck and other parts of the body. Suspecting foul play, they staged a demonstration outside the office of the Keonjhar district collector. A complaint was subsequently registered by Keonjhar police and later transferred to the Bhubaneswar–Cuttack Commissionerate Police.

“After a detailed investigation and questioning hostel inmates, we found sufficient grounds to believe that this is a case of murder. The deceased had a quarrel with the accused students, who were reportedly known to be bullies. The victim was brutally assaulted and later strangulated over a trivial issue,” Commissioner of Police S. Debadatta Singh told the press on Wednesday.

“We have produced three children in conflict with the law before the Juvenile Justice Board. In addition, eight KISS employees — including the additional chief executive officer, a teacher, a supervisor and an assistant field officer— have been arrested for suppressing the incident and not informing the police,” Mr. Singh said, adding that the investigation is continuing.

No post-mortem

The police commissioner further stated that a report was fabricated claiming the student had died of cardiac arrest. Notably, the body was handed over to the parents without any post-mortem examination being conducted in Bhubaneswar.

A post-mortem conducted later in Keonjhar confirmed that the death was caused by pressure applied to the neck, Mr. Singh said.