Murder of Itishree Pradhan

Itishree Pradhan worked as a non-formal, contractual government teacher at the Project U.P. School in Tikiri, a remote village in the Kashipur Block of Rayagada district, Odisha. According to criminal case records (C.T. No. 48 of 2014 before the Sessions Judge, Rayagada), Pradhan had been harassed by Netrananda Dandosena, the Sub-Inspector of Schools for the Kashipur Block and a former headmaster of the same school. She filed written complaints against Dandosena and his family members, but local authorities did not take immediate action. Despite appealing to various administrative bodies and organizations, the harassment reportedly continued, with Dandosena allegedly pressuring her to withdraw her complaints.

On the night of October 27, 2013, at around 9:20 PM, an unidentified individual entered Pradhan's room and threatened her to drop the cases she had filed. When she refused, the assailant poured kerosene over her and set her on fire. She suffered severe burns and was first taken to the Primary Health Centre in Tikiri, where a medical officer gave preliminary treatment and recorded her dying declaration given the critical nature of her condition. She was later transferred to the District Headquarters Hospital and then to Seven Hills Hospital in Visakhapatnam, where she died of her injuries on November 1, 2013. A second dying declaration was recorded separately by the Tahasildar-cum-Executive Magistrate of Rayagada during her treatment.

The case drew significant media attention, and the local administration faced public criticism over its perceived inaction in the lead-up to the attack. In response, the state government directed the Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID-CB) to investigate. Dandosena was subsequently charge-sheeted and stood trial. Separately, following a public interest litigation filed by Sudeepta Lenka, a Bengaluru-based law graduate, the Supreme Court of India ordered a further investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) specifically to identify and apprehend the unidentified individual who had set Pradhan on fire. That assailant was never traced, making this one of the rare cases in which the CBI has been unable to identify the primary perpetrator of the physical act.

Opposition politicians from national parties, including the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleged political involvement by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the case; however, no political parties were found to have been involved.

On April 26, 2016, the trial judge found Netrananda Dandosena guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit murder under Section 120(B), punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The court stated that the convict deserved exemplary punishment to deter similar conspiracies and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The identity of the individual who physically set Itishree Pradhan on fire remains unknown.