Odisha: She was pressured to withdraw sexual harassment complaint, claims victim's father

Bhubaneswar: The father of the 20-year-old college student who attempted self-immolation after allegedly being denied justice in a sexual harassment case on Sunday claimed that his daughter was pressured by college authorities to withdraw her complaint.

Blaming the principal of state-run Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Dillip Ghose, the father told reporters in Bhubaneswar, "My daughter's friends told me that she set herself on fire minutes after meeting the principal. She had gone to his chamber to know the findings of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) probing her allegations." "The principal told my daughter that the ICC did not find any evidence to support her sexual harassment allegations against Samira Kumar Sahu, the head of the education department," the father said, alleging that the news may have worsened her mental distress, leading her to set herself on fire.

Principal Ghose had said the victim met her in his chamber and he counseled her. He had also told the victim that the college authorities might taken action against her for levelling false allegations against a teacher, the father said.

The victim's father also alleged that Sahu had threatened to sabotage her academic records if she did not comply with his demand for "favours".

"When she lodged a complaint with the ICC against him, he brought together a few students and started claiming that all her allegations were baseless. She was under immense mental stress. The principal also did not provide any consolation to my daughter," he added.

The victim's father also claimed that he had also met the principal after his daughter lodged a complaint against the teacher.

"The principal had told me not to worry and he will resolve whatever issues are there," he said, wondering how a principal could not stop a 20-year-old woman from attempting suicide.

The woman had lodged the complaint against the teacher on June 30 and launched a protest on the college campus on July 2.

Her brother said she had also posted a message on X, pleading for justice and tagging the chief minister, higher education minister, local MP, MLA, and other officials.

Meanwhile, Ghose, who was suspended on Saturday by the Higher Education department said, "I feel a threat to my life and have sought protection from Balasore district administration." Fakir Mohan University Vice-Chancellor Prof Santosh Tripathy said the incident could have been avoided had the college authorities taken prompt action on the allegations of the victim.

"I know the principal is a good man, but he should have taken action immediately to resolve the issue. The woman waited for around 11 days and then attempted suicide by setting herself on fire," the VC told reporters.

The girl’s father rejected any suggestion that his daughter was emotionally weak.

"She was a master trainer in self-defence for girls. She wrote beautiful poems and won the Best Actress award in college in 2024," he said, his voice breaking.

"I don’t even know if I’ll be able to take my daughter back home," he said.

Meanwhile, the higher education department's three-member committee headed by Kali Prasanna Mohapatra questioned Principal Ghose and ICC members in connection with the matter.