The Odisha Police on Tuesday filed a case against Achyuta Samanta, the founder of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), along with others, for allegedly encroaching on someone else’s land.
The case has been registered at the Infocity police station in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar following a complaint from Banshidhar Behera, who owns a property adjacent to KISS which is owned by Samatha.
Samanta has been booked under charges of various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 3 (5) (common intention), Section 303 (2) (theft), Section 324 (4) (mischief), Section 329 (3) (criminal trespass), and Section 351 (2) (criminal intimidation).
The complainant alleged that acting on Samanta’s instructions, KISS authorities had dug a large tank on their land, removed soil from the plot, and used it as a dumping ground for medical waste. He claimed that they continued to do so despite attempts to fence the land.
However, when the complainant raised objections and sought police intervention, the tank was filled with sand and soil, and no further hospital waste has been dumped on the land since then.
“Thereafter, they (complainant and other landowners) made barbed wire fencing with concrete pillars to protect their land, but the same was fully removed by the miscreants,” read the FIR.
Sources at KISS said, “This seems like a controversy raked up with an ulterior motive. The area has been a dump for the waste for 20 years now.”
Meanwhile, a mail sent to the public relations office of the institute regarding the incident was unanswered.
“As far as allegations concerning medical waste disposal are concerned, KIIT strongly refutes such claims. We are committed to responsible waste management practices and strictly adhere to all regulations set forth by relevant authorities. To our knowledge, there has been no dumping on private or undesignated land. Our processes align with established legal standards, ensuring compliance at every level. The allegations mentioned in the FIR are baseless, and we will continue upholding our commitment to lawful practices across all operations,” said a spokesperson of KISS.
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