Minor Girl Death In Odisha: BJD Suspends Ex-Panchayat Samiti Chairman Sarat Nayak After Audio Row

Cuttack: Amid a raging controversy over the death of a minor girl student under mysterious circumstances in Odisha, former Mahanga Panchayat Samiti chairman Sarat Nayak was on Thursday suspended from the primary membership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

The BJD’s Cuttack District President Debashish Samantaray on Thursday suspended Nayak. The disciplinary action came after a purported audio clip of Nayak went viral. 

It may be noted here that a Class X girl student had died on June 18 under mysterious circumstances and it was alleged that her body was disposed of in haste without postmortem.

The mystery surrounding her death of the minor girl deepened as the audio of a telephonic conversation between the former panchayat chairman and the mother of a physical education teacher (PET) of the school went viral on social media. In the audio clip, Nayak was allegedly demanding Rs 70, 000 from the woman to hush up the matter and the said amount was supposed to be given to police personnel and local journalists.

The girl was reportedly in a relationship with the PET. She allegedly died by suicide after her family members came to know about the affair, locals alleged. A letter purported to have been written by her also sparked a row.

Nayak was further heard saying to the teacher’s mother that the girl’s body was cremated and the ashes immersed in a river to put a lid on the matter.

Following the development, police visited the house of the PET in Jagatsinghpur and questioned him and his mother.

In another development, the State Commission for Women today registered a suo motu case and sought a report about the incident from Cuttack SP (Rural) within 15 days.