Balasore/Baripada: Police on Saturday arrested the headmaster of a government-run school at Nilgiri following complaints of inappropriate behaviour towards girl students.

Bhaskar Kumar Panda, 56, is a resident of Baligohiri village in Nilgiri block. The police said the accused was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act .

Panda allegedly made obscene gestures towards girl students. On Thursday, he called a Class-V student to his office and allegedly molested her after showing her obscene pictures and videos on his mobile phone. Following this, the survivor attempted to thrash him with a broomstick.

The girl subsequently disclosed the matter to her parents and the news spread in the locality. On Saturday, hundreds of parents congregated in front of the school demanded action against Panda. The situation aggravated further when he threatened to take action against the students after refuting the allegations.

"There is veracity to the complaints against the teacher," said Nilgiri police station inspector-in-charge Nalita Modi.

"Not only with the complainant he had been exhibiting such immoral conduct to others since long, the investigation revealed," he said.

Similar complaints were made against him by three other students of the same class. Panda was sent to jail on judicial remand after a local court rejected his bail petition.

Two killed

A 40-year-old man allegedly murdered his elder brother and his wife on Saturday night at Kukudajodi village in Baripada district suspecting them to be witchcraft practitioners.

The accused, Ratha Hembram, was arrested by the Sadar police on Sunday. The deceased were identified as 65-year-old Purna Hembram and his wife Sing Hembram, 62.

The accused reportedly confessed to the crime and said black magic performed by the deceased couple had brought miseries on him and his family members.

Police said the victims were hacked to death when they were sleeping. The bodies were spotted by the neighbours on Sunday morning. There were injury marks on their bodies.

Inspector in-charge of Sadar police station Swarnalata Minz said the murders were fallout of suspicion of the accused that his eldest brother and his wife had cast black magic on his family.