Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The sensational murder case of the missing lady teacher from Kalahandi has stormed the state again with debates regarding the safety of women in Odisha. Few days ago, a half-burnt body was found near a playground of a private school in Kalahandi district. Odisha Police on October 20 confirmed that the body found was of the missing teacher.
According to the official report, Deepak Kumar, DIG of northern range stated that the lady teacher was killed by school president of the educational institution’s managing committee in his car on October 8 on their way from Bhawanipatna and Kegaon. The information was based on the oral, material, technical and scientific evidences along with the witness and confessional statements.
Deepak Kumar further added that the body was half burnt and partly decomposed which was found 10 feet under the playground of the private school at Mahaling which is about 80 Kilometre from the Kalahandi district. The half-burnt body was found after 11 days of her missing.
He added that the main motive behind this horrific incident is revenge. The school president had a grudge against the lady teacher as she aware of his two extra-marital affairs and had warned that she would expose the teacher, to which he took revenge. The teacher died due to breathlessness or due to strangulation. After killing her, the accused took the body to the school campus where the pit was already dug by him. He dumped the body and burnt some rubber tyres and card boards before filling the pit with mud.
After the body was found in the private school, Mahaling, the school president was arrested from a sugarcane field near Bolangir district. He was later produced before the court of the judicial magistrate at Bangomunda and was remanded to police custody for five days.
Further the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the Odisha State Commission for Women (OSCW) have sought reports on the killing of the lady teacher. The NCW has asked the Odisha Director General of Police Abhay to ensure a fair investigation into the matter and directed the state police to provide security to the teacher’s family.
The OSCW has also sought a report from the superintendents of police of Bolangir and Kalahandi and asked them to submit their probe a report within 15 days. “We have asked the SPs to conduct a fair investigation into the case,” said SCW chairperson Minati Behera.
