Bargarh: In a shocking development, two senior officials from the district education department and a Physical Education Teacher (PET) were arrested by Bargarh Town Police on Thursday for allegedly harassing and misbehaving with a woman teacher.
The arrested individuals have been identified as District Education Officer (DEO) Jyotikant Sahu, Block Education Officer (BEO) Surendra Sahu, and Sameer Panigrahi, a PET posted at Satlama Schoo
l. They face allegations of sending obscene messages and subjecting the complainant to sexual harassment.
The woman teacher, who works in a school under the Bargarh municipal area and also serves as a Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC), filed a complaint at the Bargarh Town police station, following which the three accused were detained late last night.
According to sources, the complainant had earlier escalated the matter by submitting a formal complaint to the District Collector. An administrative inquiry into the allegations is already underway, even as the police have now registered a case and launched a detailed criminal investigation.
This incident has sent ripples through educational circles in the district, raising serious concerns about workplace safety and professional conduct within the education department.