Navodaya girl student’s suicide: Teacher arrested

Keonjhar: A teacher of Hadagarh Navodaya Vidyalaya was arrested by police on Sunday in connection with the suicide of a girl student last week. The accused teacher has been booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by the Sosho Police.

After being produced in court, the accused teacher has been sent to judicial custody, said sources.

"I am not guilty. I am sure that justice will be delivered to me. There was no direct or indirect relationship with the deceased apart from the fact that I am the teacher and she was my student. I never scolded her. But a couple of months back, I advised her to work hard as she is from an Odia Medium school," said Sanjay Kumar Sahoo, the accused teacher.

It may be mentioned that Priyanka Priyadarshini Prusty, a Class IX girl student of Navodaya Vidyalaya, was rescued from the Hadagarh dam bed on Friday with severe injuries on hear head, waist and legs. She succumbed to her injuries at the district headquarters hospital later.

After the body of the girl student reached her village, irate villagers gheroad the Anandpur sub collector and SDPO demanding an impartial probe into the death of the girl student and stern action against the teacher who they alleged was harassing the deceased.