Odisha: Foul play suspected in tribal Catholic girl’s death

By Sujata Jena

Bhubaneswar, Feb 24, 2023: The mysterious death of a tribal Catholic girl in a government-managed hostel has led to unrest in a district in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.

The girl, a ninth grader of Jawahar Navodaya School in Paralakhemundi, the headquarters of Gajapati district, was found dead on February 20 in the school hostel.

While the school authorities claim the Catholic girl had died by suicide, her relatives and Church people allege it was murder after rape.

The girl’s relatives dismissed her death as a suicide case as her body had a few nail prints and blood stains around the neck, arm, and thighs.

The 14-year-old girl was a parishioner of the Allada parish under the Berhampur diocese.

The girl’s relatives and villagers of Allada protested before the office of the district superintendent of police, on hearing her mysterious death. They also met the district collector.

Protestant Bishop Pallab Lima, who had joined the team to meet the collector, says he suspects the girl was raped and murdered. He has expressed anguish over the delay and negligence in the investigation.

The prelate said the federal government has directed all educational institutions to install CCTV cameras on their premises to strengthen security. “How has it not ensured this facility in its own schools?” he asked.

The girl’s father David Raito told Matters India February 23 that the collector has verbally assured them his support. “I hope he takes some concrete action. We have not got the post-mortem report even after four days.”

Narrating the events surrounding his daughter’s death, he said his wife had received a phone call saying their daughter was not well and was admitted in a hospital. The caller refused to say anything further.

David, a government employee, then called a teacher in the school, who also said his daughter was not well and asked him to come to the district general hospital, which is around 40 km away.

“When we reached the hospital principal P K Panda showed me the dead body of my daughter and told me, ‘your daughter is dead’.” Asked how she died, the school principal said she had died by hanging.

David said he and wife had visited their daughter a week ago on her birthday. He said his daughter was a bright and cheerful student who had no reason to end her life.

“There is some conspiracy,” he said.

Meanwhile district officials, a police officer and an investigation team visited the hostel along with the girl’s parents and some relatives.

Some hostelers told the team they had found the girl hanging from the staircase between two floors. They untied her and tried to revive her in vain.

The team questioned a teacher why they had untied the girl without informing the parents or police. The teacher said, “The students did it thinking the girl was still alive, and with the immediate treatment they could save her life.”

David said he overhead the probe team whispering that it did not look like a suicide. The team has not issued any statement so far.

The girl’s paternal aunt and high school principal, Margarita Raito, said she would file a case in the state High court if no proper investigation is done.

Father Dibya Singh Parichha, a lawyer, too says he will approach the high court for justice if the administration fails to conduct a proper investigation.

Manoj Badnaik, a leading Christian in Odisha, said they want justice and not any kind of compensation.

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas is a system of central schools that target gifted students in rural areas who lack access to accelerated learning because of financial, social, and rural disadvantages.

The school in Paralakhemundi has some 500 students from grades 6-12. Both boys and girls study on the same campus and live in separate buildings. Some teachers also stay on the campus.

Paralakhemundi is some 280 km southwest of Bhubaneswar, the state capital.