Itishree murder: Dandasena cries injustice, to fast inside jail

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 26:  

Suspended School Inspector (SI) Netrananda Dandasena — who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of Odisha’s Tikiri UP School teacher Itishree Pradhan– today said that gross injustice has been done to him and that he will fast inside the jail.

He was reacting to the verdict of the case pronounced by District and Sessions Court of Odisha’s Rayagada today.

On the other hand, his daughter Rosy Dandasena and counsel Bishnu Prasad Panda said that they would appeal against the order in the higher court.

“I am not satisfied with the verdict. The allegations levelled against him were false. There was a conspiracy to defame him as he was very strict during his inspections. Besides, they wanted to make sure that BJD MP Jayaram Pangi doesn’t get a ticket. I feel cheated. We will certainly approach the upper court against the verdict,” said Rosy speaking to reporters.

“The verdict has just been pronounced. We are yet to go through the copy. However, I can assure you that we will challenge the decision in the upper court as we know that he was neither involved in the murder nor is there any evidence to suggest he conspired the incident,” said Dandasena’s lawyer Panda.

Itishree’s brother Bikram Pradhan welcomed the sentence against Dandasena. He, however, expressed his resentment over the Crime Branch investigation.

“I am happy that Netrananda Dandasena has been given life term. At the same time, I am also unhappy as many others escaped trial because of a flawed investigation by Crime Branch that holds Netrananda Dandasena the only accused. The man in jeans is still at large and many others were not even booked,” said Bikram.

“As per Itishree’s dying declaration, there were men from the administration involved. I believe that angle was not investigated. All the other accused put the blame over Dandasena to save themselves. The case is now being investigated by CBI. We believe that it will be able to bring the culprits to book,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jayaram Pangi – the MP who allegedly threatened Itishree –welcomed the verdict.

“I welcome the verdict. Justice has finally been delivered. Some people were trying to frame me unnecessarily; however, they have not been able to succeed. Moreover, I had demanded for a CBI investigation immediately after my name was embroiled in controversy. The CBI investigations are on. I am sure that it will make things even clearer,” said Pangi.