Odisha court awards life term in Itishree murder case

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar: A Sessions court in Odisha’s Rayagada district on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to prime accused former School Inspector Netrananda Dandasena after holding him guilty in the sensational Tikiri Upper Primary School teacher Itishree Pradhan murder case.The District and Session Court of Rayagada passed the orders on the basis of the chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch of Odisha police.The government had handed over the case to Crime Branch on November 1, 2013 – four days after Itishree succumbed to her burn injuries at a hospital in Visakhapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.Dandasena has been awarded a life term for criminal conspiracy, abetment and murder under sections – 120B, 109 and 302 respectively, according to Crime Branch officials.As many as 36 prosecution witnesses were examined by the court in the case.Pradhan, who hailed from Puri district and was working in a school at Tikiri in Rayagada district, was burnt alive on the night of October 27, 2013.She had succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital at Visakhapatnam on November 1, 2013.She had petitioned the authorities about the sexual harassment she had suffered at the hands of her superiors, but her grievances had gone unheard till she was attacked.The Supreme Court had also asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the murder of Itishree on a public interest petition filed by Bangalore-based law student Sudipta Lenka.