Two members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), were arrested on Monday on charges of abetment of suicide in connection with the death of a woman who set herself on fire over alleged sexual harassment, police said.
The 20-year-old woman, a second-year student at the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore, Odisha, set herself on July 12, accusing assistant professor Samir Kumar Sahoo, who headed the education department, of sexually harassing her. The woman died of her injuries on July 14.
On Monday, police arrested Subhra Sambit Nayak (ABVP Odisha joint secretary) and Jyotirprakash Biswal (ABVP member and third-year student) for allegedly instigating the woman to take the extreme step and for filming the self-immolation. Biswal reportedly sustained 15% burn injuries on his face and hands after attempting to douse the fire.
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“The two have been arrested as we found their involvement in instigating the woman in taking the extreme step,” a senior police officer of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said on anonymity. Biswal was interrogated to reconstruct the events leading to the incident, officials said.
{{/usCountry}}“The two have been arrested as we found their involvement in instigating the woman in taking the extreme step,” a senior police officer of the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said on anonymity. Biswal was interrogated to reconstruct the events leading to the incident, officials said.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Nayak and Biswal were arrested under sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 61(2)(criminal conspiracy) of BNS. The accused were later produced in court and remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
ABVP, in a press release, condemned the arrests and raised concerns over the “behaviour” of Odisha Police.
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“The police took no action against the leaders of student organisations affiliated with the Congress and the BJD, who tried to weaken the victim’s fight against sexual harassment by assassinating her character and mentally torturing her. On the contrary, the ABVP activists who tried to save her — some of whom even sustained burn injuries and were only recently discharged from the hospital — were the ones arrested. This approach not only reveals the failure of the Odisha Police but also exposes their biased attitude,” the organisation said.