manish kumar, op
New Delhi, Nov 24: Hope for resolution of the Itishree Pradhan murder case was extinguished Friday with the Supreme Court closing the case. At its 26th and final hearing on the case, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R Bhanumathi disposed of the case as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was unable to identify the murderer.
The court also dismissed a request by Suresh Chandra Tripathy, counsel for the petitioner Sudipta Lenka, for inquiry of the case by a retired judge of the Orissa High Court. Tripathy had earlier sought the CBI investigation of the matter and monitoring of the case by the SC.
Itishree, who had been working as a contract teacher at the Tikiri UP School in Kashipur of Rayagada district, was murdered in 2013. The 28-year-old had been doused with kerosene and set on fire on the premises of the Tikiri school Oct 27, 2013. The finger of suspicion pointed to Netrananda Dandasena, the schools inspector against whom Itishree had filed a sexual harassment complaint.
The state Crime Branch (CB) had initially investigated the murder but failed to identify the killer. Based on Lenka’s petition, the Supreme Court had transferred the case to the CBI January 20, 2015. The investigative agency filed five status reports over two years but failed to identify the murderer.
The apex court had in a February 22, 2014, ruling declined to order a CBI probe of the murder and directed the state agency to arrive at a ‘logical conclusion’. But as the murderer remained at large even after almost a year, the apex court transferred the investigation to the CBI.
In its January 20, 2015, judgement, the apex court directed the CBI to “apprehend the unidentified accused and submit a report to [the] court within two months”. The CBI sought several extensions but failed to identify the murderer.
Meanwhile, Dandasena, who was arrested and tried by a court in Rayagada, was sentenced to life in prison.
CLOSURE REPORT
According to sources privy to the CBI’s closure report, the central agency has recorded statements of 223 witnesses in the course of the investigation. It also announced a prize money of Rs2 lakh for any person providing information about the killer. The CBI has also stated that it had taken Netrananda Dandasena to Gujarat for narcoanalysis but could not administer it as he was found unfit to undergo the test. The CBI also got the post-mortem report scrutinised for clues by doctors from AIIMS. It concluded that despite its best efforts, the culprit could not be identified and recommended closure of the case.
WITHOUT TRACE
June 18, 2011: Itishree joins Tikiri Upper Primary School in Kashipur of Rayagada district as Siksha Sahayak
July 18, 2011: Itishree files sexual harassment plaint against Dandasena
Oct 27, 2013: She is set ablaze after she refuses to take back complaint
Nov 1, 2013: She succumbs to burns at a hospital in Vishakhapatnam
Nov 12, 2013: Petition is filed before SC seeking CBI investigation of the matter
Mar 12, 2014: Supreme Court declines CBI probe and asks state agencies to bring case to end
Jan 20, 2015: SC orders CBI probe as state agency fails to nab culprit
May 5, 2017: CBI submits its final report stating inability to nab culprit
Nov 24, 2017: SC disposes of case, killer remains unidentified