Tribal students to protest "rumours" against KISS

Bhubaneswar, Nov 29 (UNI) Students of Kalinga Institute of Social Science(KISS) today announced to demonstrate in front of Orissa Secretariat on Monday in protest against ''rumours'' spread by people regarding the ''absence'' of a student.

A few students of KISS, a tribal school of the Bhubaneswar-based KIIT University, today addressed the press and said that action will be taken against those persons who had spread the rumours with an intention to tarnish the image of the institute.

Talking to newspersons here they said the news on a tribal boy being missing from our campus is totally false and baseless. They, long with the school administration, demanded that the government should take suitable action against those people who were handy in spreading the rumours.

They feared that people claiming to be sympathisers of the tribals, might be trying to create tension in the area and transmit a bad image by actually kidnapping a child and forcing the school authorities into closing the school to fulfill their demands. Describing the story of the ''missing'' tribal boy from KISS as false and fabricated, and being spread by a section of the people with vested interest to malign the reputation of institute, its founder A Samanta and the students demanded adequate protection from the government.

They said Tirtharaj Patra, the student in question, was with them for the entire period and there was no truth in the allegation.

The school Principal N Nayak, Chief Executive Officer P K Routray and Director Livelihood P K Das also denied the allegation and produced the boy before the media persons at a press conference held here.

The Adivasi Mahasabha, working for the interest of the tribals, alleged, at a press conference held here yesterday, that Tirtha was missing for the last one and half month from the school and the School authorities were doing little to locate him.

UNI