Odisha teen jumps to death from hostel building over sexual harassment by headmaster

The SP said though an FIR is yet to be lodged by the deceased girl’s family, preliminary investigations revealed that the headmaster was harassing the girl for quite some time.

Published on: Apr 2, 2022, 00:40:03 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The headmaster and warden of a government high school in Odisha’s Sundargarh district were detained on Friday after a class 10 girl student of the school jumped to her death from the roof of the school building amid allegations that she was sexually harassed by the headmaster.

A class 10 girl student of a government high school in Odisha’s Sundargarh jumped to her death from the roof of the school building after she was sexually harassed by the headmaster. (HT FILE PHOTO.)

Police officials said they had detained headmaster Shyam Sundar Patel of the school in Lefripada block of the district after the girl jumped from the terrace of the hostel building around 1 pm. “Though the girl was rushed to the Sundargarh District Headquarters Hospital, doctors declared her dead on arrival. She had suffered head injuries,” said Sundargarh SP Sagarika Nath.

The SP said though an FIR is yet to be lodged by the deceased girl’s family, preliminary investigations revealed that the headmaster was harassing the girl for quite some time. “Initially, the school authorities claimed that the incident was an accident. But it turned out to be a result of sexual harassment,” said the SP. “We are also trying to find out if the headmaster harassed other girls in the school.”

The girl on earlier occasions had told her family about the harassment by the headmaster. Police officials who spoke to other girls said several other students of the school also alleged about sexual harassment by the headmaster.

Odisha has been witnessing a steady rise in cases of sexual offences against children. About 2,202 children faced sexual harassment in the state in 2020 as compared to 2,124 in 2019.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More