Kendrapada: A 58-year-old teacher in Jajpur district allegedly died by suicide after being accused of molesting a minor student during a school picnic.
Manas Mishra, who taught at a govt high school in Jajpur, consumed pesticides in Keonjhar on Tuesday after police filed multiple charges against him. He succumbed at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, on Friday night.
The case emerged when the girl’s mother filed a complaint on Monday, alleging that Mishra had inappropriately touched and molested her 16-year-old daughter on a picnic bus on Jan 18.The complaint also stated that the teacher had threatened the minor with dire consequences if she revealed to anyone about the incident.
Based on the complaint, police registered cases under various sections of the BNS, including charges related to outraging modesty, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation. Additional charges were filed under sections 8 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012.
“No suicide note was recovered from the deceased,” said investigating officer Sarat Chandra Patra. “The body has been handed over to the family after post-mortem, and investigations are ongoing.”
Mishra had reportedly fled from his village after the police booked him, before being found in Keonjhar.