Bhubaneswar, Oct. 30: Rayagada police today arrested the prime accused in the Tikiri burning incident even as the 27-year-old siksha sahayak continues to battle for life at a Vizag hospital.
Netranand Dandasena, the suspended sub-inspector of schools, has been caught from Ichhapuram in Andhra Pradesh, said Rayagada superintendent of police Pandit Rajesh Uttamrao.
“He was moving from place to place, but one of our teams managed to track his movement. We will interrogate him to find out who poured kerosene on the woman teacher and set her on fire,” he said, adding that Dandasena would be charged with molestation as well as attempt to murder.
The district police had formed four teams to arrest Dandasena and the other accused, who tried to kill the teacher, Itishree Pradhan, who had been teaching in Tikiri Upper Primary School.
One team had visited the house of the prime accused this morning and questioned his family members.
School and mass education minister Rabi Narayan Nanda sent a team of senior officers to keep a watch on the health condition of the teacher. The minister said the team would visit the teacher and record her statement.
“They will thoroughly inquire into the matter and submit their report to the government,” said the minister.
Yesterday, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had condemned the attack and assured the teacher’s family members that her medical expenses would be taken care of from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The Congress today demanded Naveen’s resignation for his failure to protect women in the state.