- By Surarika Das
- Mon, 09 Mar 2026 01:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A headmaster of a residential school from Odisha's Sundargarh district was garlanded with shoes and paraded through the lanes over allegedly having an illicit affair with the school's cook. The school's managing committee President of the Sevashram school, along with some other men, assaulted the headmaster on Saturday. Police arrested four people in connection to the incident.
The arrested individuals were identified as Yudhistira Patmunda (39), Bishnu Kalo (28), Daktar Penthei (45), and Mohan Naik (52). Reports revealed that the woman with whom the headmaster was having an affair was SMC's President's wife.
The victim, identified as Rohit Kumar Ray (45), works as the headmaster of Khajurdihi Sevashram, a residential school run under the SC and ST department. Patmunda, earlier accused Ray of having an affair with his wife, Shakuntala.
The incident took place on February 25, at the school's annual function. A dispute broke out between Ray and Patmunda regarding the same issue. On Saturday, Ray was intercepted on his way to school. Patmunda, along with some other villagers, was assaulted, garlanded with shoes, and paraded through the village.
The villagers also accused him of making repeated sexual advances to other women. People also claimed that the headmaster had been involved in inappropriate behaviour with several women in the village. According to Times of India, Ray was also earlier arrested for sexual misconduct in another school as an assistant teacher. Later he was suspended for a short period and then reinstated after a few days.
Upon receiving information, police rushed to the spot and rescued Ray from the mob. Based on a complaint lodged by Ray, four villagers were arrested and were later produced before a local court.
In another case, in February, Sambalpur University had suspended an assistant professor after a PhD Scholar accused him of sexual harassment.