NCW seeks removal of Odisha ministers in connection with case of missing school teacher

Seeking removal of two Odisha ministers, the National Commission for Women NCW has written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik alleging that they used their position to exploit and sexually harass women, besides manipulating police investigation in a case involving a teacher who was raped and killed.In a statement, the NCW said it has has taken suo motu cognisance of a media post wherein its alleged that the missing teacher of a school in Kalahandi district was raped, killed and dumped underground at an under-construction stadium at the school.According to the report, the prime accused fled from police custody.

Seeking removal of two Odisha ministers, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik alleging that they used their position to exploit and sexually harass women, besides manipulating police investigation in a case involving a teacher who was raped and killed.

In a statement, the NCW said it has has taken suo motu cognisance of a media post wherein it's alleged that the missing teacher of a school in Kalahandi district was raped, killed and dumped underground at an under-construction stadium at the school.

According to the report, the prime accused fled from police custody. It has been alleged that the escape was aided by ministers of the BJD government, especially Minister of State for Home Dibyashankar Mishra.

It has been reported that Mishra frequently visited the school and even stayed there for the night. It was also reported that another minister, Pratap Jena, also visited the school on several occasions before the victim went missing under mysterious circumstances, the NCW said.

''The commission condemns the incident. Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik highlighting that the ministers in the state are using their mighty positions for exploiting and sexually harassing women and also manipulating police investigation in the case,'' the NCW said.

The commission said it requested Patnaik to personally take cognisance of this case and also demanded immediate removal of Mishra and Jena from position of ministers to enable the police to conduct a fair and just investigation without any undue influence.

The NCW has also written to the Odisha DGP to ensure a fair investigation in the matter and to book all the accused under relevant provisions of the law. ''The NCW has sought immediate arrest of the accused and to provide necessary safety to the family of the victim considering involvement of influential people in the matter till all the accused are arrested. The investigation must be accomplished in a time-bound manner. The action taken must be apprised to the commission at the earliest,'' it said.

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