A final-year Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) student at a private engineering college in Odisha, who is also the nephew of state Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena, was booked for abetment to suicide on Sunday, a day after a 21-year-old student was found dead in her hostel room, police said.
Biswajit Jena was booked under Section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the uncle of the deceased student.
The deceased, a third-year BCA student, was found hanging in her hostel room on Saturday morning. She was rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Her family said that the minister’s nephew was in a relationship with the girl, and they claimed that he killed her and committed suicide.
But police said the investigation is in a preliminary stage and no results have been reached yet.
Berhampur Superintendent of Police Shravan Vivek M said, “An autopsy has been conducted and the case is currently being investigated.”
The police confiscated the student’s mobile phone and laptop and collected CCTV footage from the hostel building. Officers also questioned the deceased’s friends, colleagues and other acquaintances in an attempt to reconstruct the events that led to her death.
Police are examining the nature of the relationship between the deceased and Biswajit, as well as their recent interactions, to ascertain whether there was any harassment, coercion or other circumstances that may have contributed to the incident.
HT reached out to Transport Minister Jena for his comment on the incident but did not receive a response.
