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‘Many complaints against professor’: Father of Odisha student who set herself on fire after inaction on sexual abuse
Student attempted self-immolation after two weeks passed by and college did not do anything about her complaint
The 22-year-old student who attempted self-immolation after alleged inaction on her sexual harassment complaint against a college professor in Odisha's Balasore remains on life-support at AIIMS Bhubaneshwar.
She is still in a critical condition, while the professor and college principal have since been arrested after the case echoed in political circles.
"The team has consulted AIIMS Delhi," hospital authorities said, adding that they were so far advised to continue the current treatment. The victim's father has said she suffered 95 per cent burns.
What her father said
"She had complained (about the sexual harassment), but the principal did not pay heed to it," alleged the father, speaking to news agency ANI. “They had two to four complaints against the accused professor, and the college authorities asked me to wait for the internal committee report. My demand is that the culprit should be given the harshest punishment,” he further said.
He added that there should be counselling facilities in all colleges of Odisha, and strict steps should be taken so that such an incident does not happen again.
The Balasore police arrested the accused professor, Samir Sahu, on Saturday after registering a case of abetment to suicide and sexual harassment. The principal of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, where the victim was studying for a BEd integrated degree, was also arrested on Monday.
Posted complaint on social media
The student had lodged a complaint with the college's Internal Complaints Committee on July 1, accusing her head of department of repeated sexual harassment, an NDTV report said. Her letter detailed months of abuse and threats.
A copy of this letter was shared on social media too on July 1, and CM Majhi, union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and other top leaders and officials were tagged.
She had reportedly been told the institution would act within seven days. But almost two weeks later, she self-immolated at the college gates.
