Odisha Police arrested eight officials of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on December 17, 2025. They are accused of hiding information about a Class IX student's death caused by bullying. Three students accused of assaulting and strangling the boy were also arrested and sent to the Juvenile Justice Board. Police said the victim was attacked on December 11 after refusing to give a bucket in the toilet block. KISS told the boy’s parents he died of cardiac arrest on December 12. But relatives found injuries on the neck and body when they reached the village. They protested outside the Keonjhar district collector’s office. Police investigated and found enough evidence of murder. Commissioner S. Debadatta Singh said, “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.” The eight arrested include KISS’s additional chief executive officer, a teacher, a supervisor, and an assistant field officer for not informing police. No post-mortem was done before handing the body to parents, and a false cardiac arrest report was made. A later post-mortem in Keonjhar confirmed strangulation as the cause of death. The investigation continues.