Phulbani: A Class 11 student of a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Kandhamal district was found hanging in the school hostel on Monday, officials said.
The deceased has been identified as Gokul Kanhar, a resident of Teteripali village under Phiringia block.
According to reports, Gokul was found hanging from a ceiling fan inside the hostel room in the afternoon. His friends alerted the school authorities, following which he was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) in Phulbani, where doctors declared him dead.
Police at Phulbani Sadar police station have registered a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by the school authorities and initiated an investigation.
Meanwhile, the deceased student’s family has raised serious allegations against the school staff. Gokul’s father, Suresh Kanhar, alleged that his son had been subjected to mental harassment by teachers. “The teachers may have killed my son and hanged the body to give the incident a suicide angle,” he claimed.
School principal Suresh Kumar Sahu said the institution has requested the police to conduct a thorough probe to ascertain the exact cause and circumstances of the student’s death.
Further investigation is underway.
