Bhubaneswar: In a major development in connection with the death of a student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), the Commissionerate Police today arrested eight staff members for alleged negligence.

The arrested KISS employees have been identified as Additional CEO Pramod Patra, TGT Binaya Kumar Gochhi, Academic Coordinator Prashant Mallh, teacher Pradeep Kumar Das, Headmaster Rashmi Ranjan Naik, Assistant Field Officer Hemant Mohapatra, Supervisor Shubhakanata Behera, and Assistant Teacher Sujata Mishra. In addition, some minor students have been detained in connection with the case.

The incident dates back to December 12, when a boy student from Keonjhar district died on the KISS campus. Alleging their son was murdered, the deceased’s family approached the Keonjhar Police Station. A zero FIR was registered and later transferred to the Infocity Police Station in Bhubaneswar for investigation.

Addressing a press conference, Commissioner of Police S. Dev Datta Singh said the KISS authorities handed over the student’s body to his family without informing the local police, initially claiming that the child had died of a heart attack.

However, after the family alleged murder, an FIR was registered at the Infocity Police Station and a detailed probe was launched. The post-mortem report revealed the student had died due to strangulation. Based on documentary and circumstantial evidence, police concluded the death was a case of murder.

During the investigation, statements from other students revealed a group, referred to as a “joker gang,” was allegedly involved in bullying activities on the campus. Police said the bullying by these students led to the death of the Keonjhar boy.

The arrests were made due to the alleged negligent and lackadaisical attitude of certain KISS officials in handling the incident, the Commissioner of Police added.