Baripada: A 39-year-old private tuition teacher has been arrested in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district for the alleged murder of a 14-year-old Class VIII girl, who reportedly rejected his repeated romantic advances.
The accused has been identified as Trilochan Mahakud, a data entry operator at the Karanjia Block Education Office who also worked as a private tutor. He was apprehended on Sunday after a thorough police investigation into the teenager’s disappearance. Her body was found on Saturday stuffed inside a sack in a forested area under Karanjia police limits, just about 500 metres from her village home.
According to police sources, the girl had attended Mahakud’s coaching classes in 2021. He allegedly developed an unhealthy obsession with her and made repeated romantic overtures. When her family learned of his behavior, they confronted him and issued a stern warning to stay away. Humiliated by the rejection and the family’s intervention, Mahakud reportedly lured the student to meet him on March 20 evening. He took her to a deserted location, where an argument broke out between them. In a fit of rage, he strangled her with his hands and then used his belt to ensure her death. He then wrapped the body in two plastic sacks, covering the head and legs separately, before dumping it in the forest.
When the girl did not return home that evening, her family immediately filed a missing complaint.
The investigation involved multiple teams, including a scientific team and a dog squad, and assistance from the Forest department, as the body was found near a bamboo grove in a secluded forested area. Police also tracked her last known movements, analysed call records, smartwatch data and other digital evidence to establish the sequence of events. Several items were also seized, linking the accused to the crime, Karanjia SDPO Nabakrushna Nayak told a presser.
“The accused confessed to the crime during interrogation. He was subsequently arrested,” he added.
A case has been registered against him at Karanjia police station under Sections 137(2) and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
