Odisha minister accused of shielding man who ‘sexually exploited’ school kids

NCPCR said Gobinda Sahu was accused of tempting schoolgirls and boys, often promising them good marks in return for sexual favours

The Opposition parties in Odisha are demanding the sacking of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) minister of state for home, Dibya Shankar Mishra, in the suspected sexual exploitation of school children case and another related case of murder of a school teacher.

The national president of the BJP’s)Mahila Morcha, demanded that Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik sack Mishra for his alleged involvement in the case (Representative Photo)

Parallelly, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Saturday directed the superintendent of police of Bolangir to conduct an investigation into the alleged sexual exploitation of minors in a school, frequently visited by Mishra and run by his close confidante Gobinda Sahu, who has reportedly confessed to have murdered a 26-year old teacher who threatened to blew whistle on his alleged sexual misconduct.

52-year old Gobinda Sahu, a former civil contractor turned owner of a school in Mahaling, has been accused of sexually exploiting minor students and was arrested on Tuesday, three days after he gave the police a slip. A police officer aware of the developments in the case said Sahu on Wednesday confessed to have strangulated woman teacher Mamita Meher in his car on October 8 to prevent her from exposing his extramarital affairs.

Meher worked as a teacher in Sunshine English medium school in Mahaling village of Kalahandi district. The school is one of the three educational institutes started by Sahu in the area.

NCPCR said Gobinda Sahu was accused of tempting schoolgirls and boys, often promising them good marks in return for sexual favours. The child rights body also took note of allegations that the BJD minister was a frequent visitor to the school and allegedly patronised Sahu, the lynchpin in the case.

The Bolangir SP has been asked to submit a detailed probe report including the age and number of girls and boys in the school and school authority and officials’ role in the case within 5 days. The NCPCR has asked the SP to furnish copies of FIR, medico-legal reports, statements of the victims, orders of Child Welfare Committee and action taken against the accused. The SP has also been directed to ensure that identity of the victims is not disclosed during the process of investigation or its reporting.

Vanathi Srinivasan, the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mahila Morcha, demanded that chief minister Naveen Patnaik sack Mishra for his alleged involvement in the case.

“It has emerged that Gobinda Sahu has a record of running a sex racket and has been accused of luring girl students from his school into flesh trade, promising them good marks in exams. There are reports about the Odisha minister spending a lot of time in the private school’s premises and there were clear efforts on his part to protect and shield the accused who is his close associate,” she said, alleging that even the family members of the deceased teacher have raised serious charges against the minister in the case.

Senior Congress leader Narasingha Mishra has offered to fight the case on behalf of the family of the deceased woman teacher . “If the family wishes and gives me the charge of the case, I will take it up and fight in the courtroom to deliver justice to the family,” he said.