Opposition demand independent probe into suicide by Gobinda Sahu in jail

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress on Thursday demanded an independent probe into the death of Gobinda Sahu, the main accused in the murder of woman teacher Mamita Meher. Gobinda Sahu ended his life under mysterious circumstances inside a jail, in Odisha’s Balangir district.

While Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan demanded an investigation into the alleged suicide by the Central Bureau of Investigation, a delegation of the Congress met Governor Ganeshi Lal, and pressed for an inquiry by the Special Investigating Team.

Also read: Gobinda Sahu, prime accused in woman teacher’s murder, ends life inside Odisha jail

“How did the accused die in jail? There is also the question of mismatch in the DNA sample of Mamita Meher. These factors raise very serious questions. The State government must respect accountability in democracy. For transparency, an impartial probe is necessary,” said Mr. Pradhan.

Senior Congress leader and Kantabanji MLA Santosh Singh Saluja charged, “The circumstances under which Sahu committed suicide are difficult to be believed. It could be a conspiracy to bury several nasty truths associated with Ministers and senior officials with the death of Sahu.”

Mr. Saluja pointed out, “The wife of the deceased said she had talked to her husband late into the night, before his death in the morning. How was it possible and where did he get a mobile phone from? The accused, due to his close links with powerful persons in the government, was enjoying royal treatment. On December 20, he would have appeared in the court. It appeared very suspicious that he committed suicide.”

The Congress leader demanded that the inquiry be independent, and may either be conducted under the active supervision of a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court, or by the CBI or the SIT.

Mamita Meher was a teacher at Sunshine English Medium School, Mahaling in Kalahandi district. She had gone missing on October 8, 2021 and her body parts were traced beneath the soil on October 19, 2021. She was reportedly strangulated to death by Gobinda Sahu, the promoter of the school. According to the police, he had killed the teacher in order to prevent her from revealing his extra-marital affairs.

The murder had triggered a massive political controversy as the Opposition parties had alleged that Sahu was a close associate of Dibya Shankar Mishra, former Minister of State for Home in the Naveen Patnaik government, and accused him of shielding the suspect.