Normal life was disrupted across Odisha on Thursday as a Congress-led seven-party Opposition observed a 12-hour bandh demanding justice for the Balasore girl who died after setting herself ablaze on her college campus, alleging inaction over her longstanding sexual harassment complaint.
The victim, a second-year integrated BEd student at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore, had accused the head of the education department Samir Sahu of sexual harassment. Though her complaint was taken to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), principal Dillip Ghose and the panel allegedly shielded the accused. On July 12, she immolated herself on the campus and died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on July 14 from 95 per cent burns.
The Congress and Left activists enforced the bandh, affecting vehicular movement, closing shops, banks and offices across towns, including Rourkela, Sambalpur, Malkangiri, Balasore and Cuttack. Rail services were disrupted and government offices were picketed. Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi arrived at the secretariat amid tight security.
Senior Congress leaders, including PCC chief Bhakta Charan Das, Odisha in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu and NSUI president Varun Choudhary, were detained. Das called the bandh a “resounding success” and said people “responded spontaneously to the call to defend women’s dignity”.
The BJP, cornered on the issue, fielded Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi to counter the narrative. At a media conference, she blamed the Congress and the BJD, saying they had no moral authority to raise women’s issues given their past governance. She said the accused professor and principal had been arrested and suspended, and the Majhi government would adopt a “zero-tolerance” approach.
She also noted that President Droupadi Murmu had visited the girl at AIIMS and directed that she receive the best care.
However, Sarangi ended the media conference abruptly when questioned why no action had been taken earlier despite the girl tagging chief minister Majhi, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and state higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj in social media posts detailing her ordeal.
Former BJD MP Rajashree Mallick hit back, saying Sarangi should reflect on her own record. Mallick asked: “As a woman, she should work to ensure justice for the girl instead of pointing fingers. What has she achieved beyond inaugurating a footbridge?”