BHUBANESWAR: Trouble mounted for the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) after the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) ordered a detailed investigation into the alleged murder of a Class IX tribal student, while the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) accused doctor of a private medical college of furnishing an incorrect death report.
Taking cognisance of a report published in the December 18 issue of the Bhubaneswar edition of The New Indian Express, NCST director P Kalyan Reddy sought a report on the incident and the action taken by the authorities within three days.
NCST members to visit state for probe
The commission issued notices to the additional chief secretary in charge of Home, the commissioner-cum-secretary of the ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Development department, and the commissioner-cum-secretary of the School and Mass Education department, the director general of police, the commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, as well as the Khurda collector.
If the report is not received within the stipulated time, the commission will issue summons for the officials to appear in person or through a representative, Reddy said.
On Wednesday, the commissionerate police claimed that the 14-year-old student, Shiva Munda, was strangulated by three fellow inmates in the intervening night of December 11 and 12 over a petty issue. KISS authorities were accused of suppression and destruction of evidence. Three students and eight KISS employees and staff members have since been held.
Reddy said, members of the NCST will visit Bhubaneswar to conduct an on-the-spot investigation into the incident. They will interact with officials, examine records, and assess the circumstances leading to the student’s death.
Meanwhile, OSCPCR chairperson Babita Patra said the commission has written to the government seeking punishment for the doctors who furnished the report on the cause of the student’s death. “The doctor should be brought under the purview of the investigation,” she said, seeking to know how the student’s body was transferred without a post-mortem. Patra claimed that the local police station had no information about the incident.
Union Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram strongly condemned the incident and said such cases have occurred repeatedly. He asked the KISS authorities to remain vigilant and take preventive measures. Since a BJP government is in place, a detailed investigation will be carried out and action will be taken, he said.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das accused KISS of changing the cause of death from strangulation to a heart attack. Stating that the doctor responsible should be arrested, Das demanded strong action against those in charge of the hostel.