Police have arrested the nephew of Odisha Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena in connection with the death of a 20-year-old woman student at a private engineering college in Ganjam district. The arrest was made on the charge of abetment of suicide, an officer said.
The accused, identified as 24-year-old Biswajit Jena, is the minister’s nephew and was allegedly the boyfriend of the deceased, a Bachelor in Computer Application student. The woman was found hanging from the ceiling in her hostel room on Saturday, where she was staying with her sister and three other roommates.
Superintendent of Police, Berhampur, Saravana Vivek said a case was registered at Golanthara police station on the basis of a report filed by the deceased student’s maternal uncle. The case was registered against Biswajit Jena on the charge of abetment to suicide, following which an investigation was launched.
Senior police officers, including the SP, visited the scene. A scientific team and an executive magistrate also went to the spot. According to the complaint lodged by the student’s maternal uncle, Biswajit Jena was also a BCA student at the same college.
The SP said the exact cause of the woman’s death would be known after the post-mortem report is received. “Investigation is going on, and appropriate action will be taken,” he said. Neither the minister, nor the accused nephew, nor any of their family members were available for comment on the issue.
The opposition BJD demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. “The police must arrest the accused, notwithstanding his relationship with the minister. The law must take its own course,” said former MLA Ramesh Chandra Ayyau Patnaik, the BJD’s Ganjam district president. BJP’s Ganjam district president Saroj Sabat said police were investigating the case. Overall, the case centres on the student’s death in her hostel room, the arrest of the minister’s nephew on the charge of abetment to suicide, and the ongoing police investigation.
– Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jun 22, 2026 13:42 IST
