Bhubaneswar, Oct. 29: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today announced that the state government would bear the treatment cost of the woman school teacher, who is battling for life at a hospital in Vishakhapatnam with 85 per cent burns.

“The expenses for her medical treatment would be borne from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund,” said Naveen while condemning the incident of Sunday.

The victim, Itishree Pradhan, in her late 20s, is a sikhya sahayak (education assistant) at Tikiri Project School. An unidentified person had tried to set her ablaze. Earlier, Pradhan had brought allegations of sexual harassment against sub-inspector of schools Netranand Dandasena. Dandasena, who is absconding, is suspected to be behind the incident.

The person attacked her when she was sleeping in her room at the girls’ hostel. Pradhan, who hails from Kanas of Puri, had joined the school in 2011.

Authorities have suspended district inspector of school Dharanidhar Behera for not taking action against Dandasena though the matter had been referred to him much earlier. District collector Sashibhushan Padhi also suspended the accused sub-inspector.

The teacher had lodged police complaint against Dandasena on July 18 and again on August 16. She had informed Padhi and the state commission for women on August 18.

Padhi instructed the district inspector to take action against the sub-inspector after the sexual harassment cell had found him guilty. But, the district inspector did not take any action. “We have suspended the district inspector and the school inspector. We have started an inquiry into the matter,” said Padhi.

Besides, district superintendent of police Rajesh Pandit today suspended the sub-inspector of a local police station, Muralidhar Pradhan, for neglecting his duty and not taking action against the accused though the victim had lodged complaints much earlier. Tehsildar-cum-magistrate of Rayagada Prashant Kumar Das recorded the statement of the victim yesterday. The victim stated that while she was sleeping, a man entered her room and threw kerosene on her. “He asked her to withdraw the case she had lodged against the sub-inspector and then set her on fire. However, she could not identify the accused,” said Das.

Tikiri police have registered a case and launched a manhunt to arrest the culprit, who had set the teacher on fire and the absconding school inspector. One of the victim’s colleagues said the hostel inmates had informed them about the teacher being set afire on Sunday night. “We immediately rushed her to nearby hospital. She was later shifted to Vishakhapatnam,” said one of her colleagues.