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Odisha student dies after self-immolation over inaction after sexual harassment allegation
The student had set herself on fire on Saturday in protest against official inaction regarding her allegations of sexual harassment by a professor.
A 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation, succumbed to her injuries late Monday night at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. She had set herself on fire on Saturday in protest against official inaction regarding her allegations of sexual harassment by a professor at her college.
"The patient was brought to the casualty ward on July 12 at 5:15 PM by her friend. She was resuscitated with IV fluids and antibiotics, intubated, and placed on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy in the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14," stated a medical bulletin issued by AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning.
Expressing his grief, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi vowed stringent action against the culprits. “I assure the family that all those found guilty will face the strictest punishment as per the law,” he said on X.
On Monday evening, President Droupadi Murmu visited the victim in the burns ward at AIIMS Bhubaneswar and met the girl’s parents, assuring them of all possible support for her treatment. Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, who was also present during the President's visit, urged the state government to act with urgency, empathy, and a sense of responsibility to prevent such incidents. "The safety, mental well-being, and dignity of students must be protected at all times," he wrote on X.
What is the case?
The victim, a second-year B.Ed (Integrated) student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, set herself on fire on Saturday just outside the college principal’s chamber. This act followed the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the institution giving a clean chit to the head of the Education Department, Samir Kumar Sahu, in the sexual harassment case she had filed two weeks earlier.
In her complaint, the student accused Sahu of making sexual advances and threatening to fail her in examinations if she did not comply with his demands. A member of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), she had informed Chief Minister Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the National Commission for Women (NCW), and local police officials about her situation.
The victim's father, a clerk at a local college, said his daughter had asked him to lodge an FIR with the local police last week as she had no faith in the college's internal inquiry process regarding her allegations.
On Monday, police arrested Dilip Ghosh, the principal of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, who had been suspended following reports that he shielded Sahu from the harassment charges and even threatened the victim with rustication.
Sahu was arrested shortly after the girl attempted self-immolation.
The National Commission for Women took suo motu cognizance of the case on July 13 and demanded an action report within three days.
Widespread outrage
The incident has sparked widespread protests across the state. On Monday, the BJD’s student and youth wings staged demonstrations outside Fakir Mohan College, while Congress leaders in Balasore gheraoed the office of the district collector.
On Sunday, opposition parties attempted to gherao Chief Minister Mohan Majhi’s residence, demanding his resignation along with that of Higher Education Minister Suraj Suryabanshi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
On Monday, the Odisha government directed all universities and colleges to form Internal Committees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 within 24 hours, and to publicly display the names and contact details of all ICC members for general awareness.
Meanwhile, as Balasore police and a team from the State CID continued their investigation, the victim’s friends, her father, and officials of Fakir Mohan College recounted that her ordeal began approximately six months ago when Sahu first made sexual advances.
"Though she remained silent initially, she later confided in her friends. The harassment continued. When she rejected his advances, the mistreatment escalated. He humiliated my daughter daily in class—even for being slightly late—and made her stand outside. She said he deliberately failed her in internal exams. She had filled out a form to appear for the back paper exam last Wednesday. Boys in her class would pass lewd comments at her on campus at Sahu’s behest. They mocked her ambition to contest the student union elections. Yet, her complaint was not taken seriously,” her father alleged.
He also said the professor harassed her citing her low attendance.
“She wasn’t well and had to return home due to family bereavements. She also participated in self-defence training as a master trainer. When she approached the professor to consider her attendance, he asked for sexual favours in return,” he said, adding that his daughter had attempted suicide twice due to the ongoing harassment.
The victim had sought a meeting with Higher Education Minister Suraj Suryabanshi through the local MLA, but it could not be arranged.
On June 25, she opened an X account and posted about her ordeal, tagging Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Pradhan, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi, the Balasore district administration, MP Pratap Sarangi, local MLA Manas Kumar Dutta, SP Raj Prasad, and the NCW.
However, the post went unnoticed. On June 30, the professor allegedly barred her from appearing in an internal exam, citing low attendance. That day, she and her ABVP friends wrote to the college principal detailing the harassment and demanding the formation of an inquiry committee.
"When the principal did not act, ABVP members locked the college gate in protest the next day, prompting police intervention. A meeting was held in Principal Ghosh’s chamber, where he announced the formation of an ICC under POSH guidelines. The college had no such committee until then. The victim was then asked to submit another complaint addressed to the committee, which she did. Uncertain about the outcome, she also met Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi the same day, who called the principal and urged a speedy investigation," said a friend of the victim.
Seven days later, the girl met the principal again to inquire about the progress of the probe, but received no clear response.
Balasore SP Raj Prasad stated that on July 1, the principal had assured police that the probe would conclude within five days, and a report would be submitted. However, this was not done, and the Higher Education Department was not informed about the complaint either.
The ICC finally submitted its report on July 10, clearing Sahu of the charges.
“The ICC did not understand the intricacies of the investigation process. The report appeared ambiguous. Students were randomly selected for questioning, and the effort seemed perfunctory. The principal should not have allowed the professor to continue working on campus during the inquiry. The victim was not offered any counselling, which likely led her to believe the inquiry was a sham,” said a Higher Education Department official who later investigated the matter.
Though three students were ICC members, they were absent from the inquiry due to exams.
On July 10, the girl spoke with her father, expressing despair over the lack of action. “They won’t let me live in peace,” she told him.
On Saturday, she approached Principal Ghosh once more, seeking action against Sahu. He reportedly told her that the ICC found no wrongdoing by the professor and pressured her to withdraw her complaint.
“My daughter’s friends said the principal told her that the ICC had found all evidence against her and asked her to withdraw the complaint, or else she would be rusticated. She must have felt that all doors were closing in that moment,” her father said.
