School-teacher 'murder': BJP to send three-member team to Odisha

Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra on Tuesday condemned the alleged rape and murder of a school teacher in Kalahandi district and informed that the party has decided to send a three-member team to the state to look into the matter.

Addressing a press conference on the matter, Patra said, "BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda has taken cognizance of this entire matter and is sending a three-member team to Odisha. Our team will go and submit the report as soon as possible after taking cognizance of this entire matter."

"An innocent woman in the Kalahandi was murdered and her body was brutally mutilated. We believe that the nation should come to know about this heinous murder. All of you have been on social media for a few days. Hashtag #JusticeForMamitaMeher is trending on social media. People from all over the country and abroad are standing for this woman," he said.

Giving details about the crime, Patra alleged, "Mamita Maher was 24 years old and a teacher. Mamita went missing on October 8. When the whole matter was brought to the fore, it was found that she had been murdered and her body was mutilated."

BJP has demanded Odisha minister of state for home Dibya Shankar Mishra's removal from his post for his alleged involvement in the case.

"A sex racket was going on in the women's hostel of the school where the woman was working. In this, innocent girl students and teachers were being exploited. The name of Dibya Shankar Mishra, a minister in the Odisha government, is also coming up in this case. Reportedly, he had prior information about this racket," Patra further alleged.

BJP spokesperson said that the Odisha police personnel had refused to register an FIR on the matter. "Somewhere the police knew that a minister is involved in this. So, the police was hesitant to register the FIR. When there was pressure from the Opposition parties, the police had to register an FIR," he said.

Earlier, on October 24, BJP Mahila Morcha on Saturday demanded the sacking of the Odisha Home Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra over a teacher's alleged murder in Odisha's Kalahandi district.

A press statement issued by BJP's women's wing read, "A dastardly killing of a 24-year-old woman, who was serving as a teacher at a private school in Mahaling in Kalahandi district of Odisha has now come to the fore. The role of Odisha's Home Minister Capt. Dibyashankar Mishra in shielding and protecting the murder accused in this case has also come to light."

It further said, "While strongly condemning this heinous crime against women perpetrated by the School's owner, identified by the Odisha Police as Govind Sahu, the BJP Mahila Morcha demands that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik uphold the dignity of the office of the Home Minister and immediately sack Capt. Dibyashankar Mishra without any delay."

The BJP Mahila Morcha in its press statement also alleged that the murdered woman was also the warden of the girls' hostel in that school.

( With inputs from ANI )