Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Monday clarified that only Govind Sahu and his driver Radheshyam Chandi were involved in the schoolteacher Mamita Meher murder case.
Replying to a question of BJP legislator Bishnu Sethi in the Assembly during zero hour on Monday, Minister of State for Home Tushar Kanti Behera said police have already filed chargesheet against the two accused in the case. Both Sahu and Chandi were lodged in Kantabanji jail in Balangir district as the case was pending in the court, he added.
The minister further clarified that the police did not find evidence of involvement of any other person in the case during the investigation.
The minister’s reply holds significance as the opposition parties had alleged that the then Minister of State for Home Divya Shankar Mishra had strong links with Sahu and was involved in the conspiracy to murder Mamita. Though the BJP and Congress demanded resignation of Mishra, the ruling BJD had come to his defence. However, Mishra was dropped from the ministry in the Cabinet reshuffle by chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik recently.
The minister also said the Orissa High Court has granted conditional bail to Sahu for two weeks after he filed a petition citing that his wife and son were extremely ill and he had to admit them in hospital for treatment.
Mamita, belonging to Turekela block in Balangir district, was working as a teacher in Sunshine English Medium School at Mahaling in Kalahandi. The 26-year-old teacher had gone missing on October 8 last year. Following a statewide outcry, the police arrested Sahu, who was was the member of the executive board of the school, on charge of murdering Mamita on October 19.
Later, Sahu’s interrogation led the police to dig out the charred body of Mamita from the ground of an under-construction stadium of the school.
Sindhekela police in Balangir district had filed a 2,000-page chargesheet in the case in Bangamunda JMFC court in February, 2022.
