Private tutor strangles Class 8 girl after family warns him over advance; body dumped in forest

BHUBANESWAR: A 39-year-old private tuition teacher was arrested in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Sunday for allegedly murdering a 14-year-old Class VIII student after she rejected his advances, police said. The accused, identified as Trilochan Mahakud, was held following an investigation into the girl’s disappearance. Her body was recovered on Saturday from inside a sack in a forested area under Karanjia police limits, barely 500 metres from her village. According to police, the victim had earlier attended Mahakud’s coaching classes in 2021. Investigators said he had been making advances towards her, which had come to the notice of her family. They had reportedly warned him to stay away. “Humiliated, he called the girl to meet him on Friday evening and took her to a deserted place. After an altercation, he strangled her with his hands and then used his belt to kill her,” said SDPO Karanjia, Nabakrushna Nayak to news agency PTI. When the girl did not return home on Friday, her family filed a missing complaint the same day. Police began tracking her movements and examined her call records, which led them to Mahakud. During questioning, the accused allegedly confessed to the crime. He was subsequently arrested. Police said the body was found stuffed in a sack near bushes close to the victim’s home, indicating an attempt to conceal the crime. Further investigation is underway.(With agency inputs)