Mahanga minor girl death case: Police quiz PET, mother; women's panel seeks report 

A day after Cuttack SP ordered an additional SP rank officer probe into the viral audio associated with Mahanga minor girl death case, a team of police on Thursday questioned a physical education teacher (PET) of Gokan High School.

According to sources, the investigation team questioned PET Anup Ray and his mother Bijaylaxmi Ray at Cheliagarh village under Jagatsinghpur police limits to extract more information associated with the mysterious death of the Class 10 student.

Krushna Prasad Patnaik, investigation officer said, “I have recorded the statements of the teacher and his mother. As the probe is underway, details will be divulged later.”

“There is no pressure in the investigation process,” Patnaik added.

Notably, the mystery surrounding the death of a Class 10 girl student deepened further after a letter and a purported audio of a BJD leader went viral on social media. 

The girl student had died on June 16 under mysterious circumstances and it is alleged that her body was disposed of in haste without the conduct of a post-mortem.

The matter came to light only after the audio of BJD leader and former Mahanga block chairman Sarat Nayak went viral. The audio is said to be the conversation between Nayak and the mother of a teacher with whom the minor girl allegedly had some relationship.

The minor girl allegedly committed suicide after her family came to know about the incident. In the viral audio, Nayak can be heard telling the concerned teacher’s mother that the body of the girl has been disposed of and the evidence destroyed without conducting the post-mortem on the advice of the police.

Nayak also allegedly demanded Rs 70,000 from the teacher’s mother, as per the viral audio conversation. 

Meanwhile, the Odisha State Commission for Women on Thursday registered a suo moto case in connection with the death of the minor girl and directed the SP to submit a report within 15 days.