Odisha teacher's murder: BJP hits out at CM Patnaik for 'safeguarding' accused Minister

Amid massive uproar over the sensational kidnap and murder case of a school teacher in Odisha's Kalahandi district, BJP national Vice President Baijayant Panda came down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for 'safeguarding' minister Dibya Shankar Mishra, who is allegedly linked to the case. The Opposition has accused State Home Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra of propping up the main accused Gobinda Sahu. Members of the saffron party hit the streets on Saturday, staging state-wide protests demanding Mishra's removal.

"Read & weep. A woman murdered, girls allegedly exploited, a state in turmoil, but Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik refuses to drop this guy from his goverment," Panda wrote in his Twitter page while reacting to the case.

A 24-year-old female teacher of a private school in the Mahaling village of Kalahandi went missing on October 8 and her partially decomposed body was recovered from the school playground on October 19. Two people, including the school president who is said to be close to Minister Dibya Mishra, were arrested by police. 

The school president, who is the prime accused in the case confessed to his role in the crime. He admitted that he mutilated the woman's body and burnt it before dumping it in the school compound. The victim's family members have demanded capital punishment for the culprits.

Odisha Minister 'aided' prime accused in murder case

Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of DS Mishra, alleging that the prime accused is close to him and that was why he was able to escape on Sunday night from the Titlagarh police barrack, where he was detained in connection with the "abduction" of the teacher. He was arrested later on October 19 from a sugarcane field where he was hiding.

On the motive behind the crime, DIG of the northern range, Deepak Kumar, on Wednesday said the prime accused had a grudge against the lady teacher as she was aware of his two extra-marital affairs and had warned that she would expose him.

A number of protests were organized by Opposition parties across the state against the incident in the past few days. The BJP also submitted a memorandum to the Odisha Human Rights Commission demanding a thorough probe into the incident. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly and senior BJP leader, Pradipta Kumar Naik, also demanded a compensation of Rs 2 crore for the deceased's woman's next to kin and a government job for one of her family members. The National Commission for Women had suggested that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik remove Mishra and Law Minister Pratap Jena from the council of ministers to enable the police to conduct a free and fair investigation.

(With inputs from agency)