This Article is From Oct 31, 2013

Man accused of setting Odisha teacher on fire arrested

Bhubaneswar: Three days after a school teacher was set on fire for not withdrawing a complaint of sexual harassment, Odisha police have arrested the key suspect in the case.

The woman was allegedly set on fire by a man hired by Netranand Dandsena, the sub-inspector of schools, in Rayagada district on Sunday night.

The victim, who sustained about 90 per burns, is in a critical condition at a private hospital in Andhra Pradesh.

"She is struggling for survival. We have made all attempts to save her," Rayagada district collector Dr SB Padhi said.

Dandsena has been arrested from Seshakhal on Odisha Andhra Pradesh border on Wednesday evening. He was on the run after the victim lodged an FIR against him in July accusing him of sexually harassing her.

Though the victim said the man who poured kerosene and set her on fire was someone else, police suspected that the incident was engineered by Dandsena since he had been putting pressure on the her to withdraw the case.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced that the state government would bear all the cost of treatment.

Demanding justice to the victim, around 200 teachers under the banner of Rayagada Zilla Shiksha Sahayak Sangh submitted a memorandum to chief minister through district collector Sashibhusan Padhi.

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