Odisha college student who set herself afire over harassment dies, Oppn demands judicial probe

Bhubaneswar/Balasore: The 20-year-old Odisha college student who set herself ablaze over an alleged sexual harassment by a professor died, triggering nationwide outrage.

The father of the deceased held members of her college's Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) "solely responsible" for his daughter's death, accusing them of preparing a "biased report" in connection with her allegation which led her to set herself on fire on the campus on July 12.

Jayshree Mishra, the ICC coordinator of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, said the panel recommended removal of Samira Kumar Sahoo, accused of sexually harassing the student, from the post of Head of Integrated BEd.

However, the reason for seeking his removal was his "strict approach" and not sexually harassing students, Mishra said, adding that the authorities did not take any steps on the recommendation.

While Chief Minister Mohan Charan Mahji expressed grief over the student's death by self-immolation and announced that all culprits will face the strictest punishment, non-BJP leaders such as Rahul Gandhi of the Congress and BJD president Naveen Patnaik termed the incident an "organised murder by the system".

The BJD and Congress demanded a judicial probe into the incident and also sought removal of the chief minister and Higher Education Minister Surbyabanshi Suraj till completion of the investigation.

BJD said the judicial commission should be headed by a sitting high court judge.

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties also called for a bandh in the state on July 17.

The second-year Integrated B.Ed student in Balasore set herself ablaze shortly after coming out of the principal's chamber.

The student who suffered 95 per cent burns was first admitted to the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment.

She was declared dead hours after President Droupadi Murmu visited her at the burn unit ICU.

"The patient was on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 pm on July 14," the AIIMS Bhubaneswar’s Department of Burn Centre said in a statement on Tuesday.

Condoling the death, the CM announced an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh for the family of the deceased student.

"I assure the family that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law," Majhi said in a statement.

The administration conducted the postmortem examination of the body on Monday night and sent it to her native place in Basta area of Balasore district.

The funeral of the woman was conducted before noon on Tuesday in presence of thousands of people, including the Balasore MP.

The deceased’s father blamed the college's Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) which, in its report, gave a clean chit to the accused head of the department.

“My daughter would have been alive today had the ICC done a proper probe into her allegation,” the father said.

The student, in her complaint to the ICC on July 1, mentioned that the teacher asked for “favour” from her, refusal of which invited mental harassment.

“Let the ICC members come under the purview of the investigation,” her father said.

Her mother said she hopes that her daughter’s death will ensure the safety of other female students in colleges and schools.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi termed the death as nothing less than an "organised murder by the system".

Gandhi questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the atrocities against women in Odisha and Manipur.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, however, said on X: “The cheap politics played by Rahul Gandhi and Congress on the tragic incident involving Odisha's daughter is extremely unfortunate. Turning a serious and sensitive matter into a political weapon reflects @RahulGandhi's petty mindset."

Odisha’s Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik said, "A failed system can take life, it's a planned injustice.” Patnaik urged the Governor to ensure that not only the college authorities but also those in power, who allegedly failed to take any action despite the victim's desperate pleas, are held accountable.

Opposition Congress, the Left and four other parties called an Odisha Bandh on July 17.

The BJD called an 8-hour bandh only in Balasore district on Wednesday from 6 am to 2 pm.

The BJD activists held a candlelight rally in the state capital on this evening and decided to gherao the state secretariat on Wednesday.

Congress workers demonstrated before Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj's residence and hurled eggs. They also held a funeral procession of the state BJP government.

OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das visited the student's in Balasore.

The student's father, however, urged all not to politicise the matter.

“My daughter is gone. I appeal to all—please don’t use her for political gain. However, I will keep fighting so that she gets justice,” he said.

The father said he received a message from the CM, assuring him of a proper investigation.

Senior minister Suresh Pujari claimed that around 20 people have caused her mental agony for the last 15 days and all of them will come under the purview of investigation.

The police arrested the principal and the accused teacher.

The University Grants Commission has set up a four-member fact-finding team to look into the incident.