Parents of murdered Odisha school teacher move court to seek quicker probe

Odisha’s junior home minister Dibya Shankar Mishra said he was a law-abiding citizen and a former Indian Air Force pilot, and the opposition was attempting to link him to the murder accused just because both of them were members of the same college panel

Published on: Nov 18, 2021, 01:24:58 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Bhubaneswar: The parents of Mamita Meher, the schoolteacher of Kalahandi district allegedly murdered and buried by the president of the school’s managing committee last month, have filed a petition in Orissa High Court seeking a quicker trial in the case.

School teacher Mamita Meher’s parents asked the Orissa high court to order the police and Odisha government to quickly conduct their investigation into their daughter’s death (Orissa high court website)

Meher. 26 was allegedly killed by Gobind Sahu, president of the managing committee of Sunshine English medium school in Mahaling grampanchayat of Kalahandi district on October 8 after she allegedly threatened to expose him. Sahu is alleged to have dismembered the body, burnt it and buried it an under-construction stadium near the school. He was arrested on October 19 and is now in judicial custody.

Since then, the opposition BJP and Congress has been stridently demanding sacking of minister of state for home Dibya Shankar Mishra from the Naveen Patnaik ministry because he was believed to be close to the Kalahandi school official Sahu.

On Wednesday, Mishra rubbished allegations that he was linked to the case and accused Gobinda Sahu.

Addressing a public meeting in Kalahandi, Mishra said his name was dragged into the case by weaving a fictional story.

“I have served in the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot. I am a law-abiding citizen. I am the president of the governing body of Mahaling College and the prime accused in Mamita Meher murder case, Gobinda Sahu, happened to be a member of that body. Just because I represent this assembly constituency, I cannot be held responsible for a murder in which I am in no way involved,” he said, underlining that chief minister Naveen Patnaik has never spared anyone found guilty and ultimately truth will triumph despite the ‘malicious campaign’ against him.

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

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