Misery pounds for Odisha tribal girl impregnated by headmaster

Koraput: Less than three weeks after the shocking incident of a minor girl being allegedly impregnated by a headmaster was reported, the family has been asked to ‘pay for it’ as the community has ostracised them in tribal-dominated Koraput district in Odisha.

The father of the victim – Golak Mohan Sisa – is under duress after the elders of the community in Khamara village imposed conditions to get the former back into its fold.

“I am a daily wage earner. After our community members came to know about the incident, they have socially boycotted us and have asked to throw a feast which entails a cost of around Rs 30, 000 in order to get us back to its fold. I am very poor. How can I afford to spend such a big amount?” asked Sisa.

The teenager studying in Class IX was found to be five month pregnant and doctors advised against aborting the foetus.

“I haven’t received any financial assistance from the government yet. My daughter needs medical assistance which involves money. Besides, I urge government to extend help for the feast,” Sisa added.

The six-member tribal family is in dire straits, courtesy: the prevalent of age-old traditions which have compounded miseries for them, for no fault of theirs.

The headmaster Bidhubhusan Nayak of Balda Ashram School under Nandapur block in the district allegedly established a physical relationship with the minor girl on the pretext of marriage as we had reported here. The matter came to light after the girl did not go to her village during the vacation.

The family grew suspicious when the authorities of the tribal school managed by the SC/ST Development Department of the state government reportedly told them she had left the hostel long back.

When the matter went bust, the 45-year-old teacher was arrested and forwarded to court.