Four staff members of Kerala English Medium School in Keonjhar’s Champua have been arrested in connection with the alleged suicide of a 16-year-old student. The arrests follow serious allegations of sustained mental and physical abuse.
The student, a Class X boarder, reportedly jumped from the fourth floor of the hostel building shortly after the morning assembly on July 12. Despite being rushed to a local hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.
Acting on a complaint filed by the student’s father, Sudhansu Sekhar Pradhan from Chaibasa (Jharkhand), the police arrested teacher Shashi Shekhar Jha, hostel warden Surendra Nath Mishra, administrative officer Prakashan T, and hostel supervisor Daitari Sahu. All four have been charged under Section 108/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment of suicide.
The arrests were made after investigators examined CCTV footage and interviewed eyewitnesses. The police have confirmed the incident as a case of suicide, contradicting earlier uncertainties regarding the nature of the fall.
The student’s death triggered protests outside the school and hospital, with family members demanding access to surveillance footage and a transparent probe. Authorities allowed three family members to view the footage and later conducted a postmortem examination.
All four accused have been presented in court and are currently in judicial custody.
