12-year-old sexually abused, killed in Odisha madrasa; 5 classmates sent to juvenile home

The deceased’s body was found in an abandoned septic tank in the madrasa on September 3, two days after he went missing

Published on: Sep 7, 2025, 15:36:34 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: Five minor students of a madrasa in Odisha’s Nayagarh district were sent to a juvenile home for allegedly murdering their 12-year-old classmate after sexually abusing him for nearly a year, police said.

Police investigations revealed that the boy was strangled to death by the five classmates when he resisted and threatened to inform his parents about the sexual abuse. (Representative photo)

The deceased’s body was found in an abandoned septic tank in the madrasa on September 3, two days after he went missing. “The body was discovered floating in around 1pm, alongside a dog’s carcass,” an officer said

The minor, who had been a boarder at the madrasa for about a year, went missing around 2pm on September 2, Nayagarh additional superintendent of police Subash Chandra Panda, who headed the investigation, said.

“The accused had been forcing unnatural sexual relations with the victim for nearly a year. When the victim resisted and threatened to inform his parents, the accused, along with others, subjected him to physical and mental torture,” Panda added.

Police investigations revealed that the boy was strangled to death by the five classmates when he resisted and threatened to inform his parents about the sexual abuse. “The body was then dumped in the septic tank, and the perpetrators informed the headmaster that the boy was missing,” an officer said.

Panda said that the madrasa authorities informed his family at 4pm. “When the father and uncle arrived at 7pm and searched the premises, they found no help from the madrasa authorities regarding CCTV footage access,” he added.

Police interrogated 15 students and zeroed in on a 15-year-old student who turned out to be the mastermind behind the murder.

The boys allegedly tried killing the deceased before too. “The five boys first attempted to kill the victim by pushing him into the toilet tank on August 31, but he survived with only a minor head injury. However, the victim was too terrified and did not report the matter to the teachers and his own family,” Panda said.

The Nayagarh Juvenile Court on Saturday remanded the five accused minors to Angul Juvenile Home for 13 days .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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