Bhubaneswar: CBI suspects that a fugitive teacher, who has been convicted of abducting minor girls and women, may be hiding in Odisha.
In a letter to Odisha School and Mass Education Department, CBI has requested the state government to trace the teacher, Dhaval Trivedi, and hand him over to them if he is found working in any school or taking private tuition.
The central agency is currently investigating the kidnapping of a girl by Trivedi from Gujarat on August 11, 2018.
CBI has also announced a cash reward for any information about the teacher and assured that the informant’s identity will be kept secret.
Briefing about Trivedi’s modus operandi, the CBI said he used to reside in remote areas of different states imparting tuition in English, get employed in a school and subsequently elope with females and minor girls.
The accused teacher was earlier convicted to life imprisonment for his involvement in abducting minor girls and women, the letter added.
Following the CBI letter, the Odisha School and Mass Education Department has written to all district and block education officers against appointing the culprit in any school. The department also attached Trivedi’s identification in the letter.
“Thorough verification may also be made regarding the accused’s involvement in the education system of our state for further needful action in the matter,” the letter read.
“As alerted by CBI, the government has initiated efforts to trace the accused teacher. It should be ensured that the accused would get stringent punishment for such heinous crime,” S&ME Minister Samir Dash said.