10-yr RI for headmaster over sexual harassment

Rourkela: A POCSO court here sentenced Wednesday the headmaster of Patuadihi Gram Panchyat High School to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment after convicting him of sexually harassing a girl student of the same institution. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 70,000 on the convict, identified as Shyamsundar Patel. Judge Mahendra Kumar Sutradhar said that Patel will have to undergo an additional prison term of seven months in case he fails to pay the fine. Fearing sexual harassment, the Class X student had jumped from the roof of the hostel located under Lefripara police station limits. She suffered grievous injuries and died en route to the hospital April 1, 2022.