The student from Balasore, who had suffered 95 per cent burns after attempting to self-immolate in protest against the failure of the Fakir Mohan College authorities to act on her allegations of sexual harassment, succumbed to her injuries late Monday night.
Her mortal remains were cremated at her native place of Palasia village in Bhogari block of Balasore district on Tuesday, even as Opposition parties and student organisations across Odisha erupted in protest. The second-year integrated BEd student of Fakir Mohan College had been admitted to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, on Saturday with critical burn injuries after she set herself ablaze on the campus.
She had accused the head of the department of education at the college, Samir Sahu, of sexual harassment and threatening to ruin her academic career. Despite her complaints reaching the internal complaints committee (ICC), no actions were taken against the accused. Seeing no way out, she set herself on fire near the main building of the college on Saturday.
The death of the girl, an active member of the ABVP, has put the BJP government on the back foot. It has provided the Opposition with ammunition against the Mohan Majhi government.
Hitting out at the government, leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi wrote on X: “The death of a daughter fighting for justice in Odisha is nothing less than a murder by the BJP’s system.” He called it an “organised murder by the system”.
Stating that the brave girl had raised her voice against sexual harassment but failed to receive justice and was repeatedly humiliated, Rahul remarked: “Those who were supposed to protect her kept breaking her.”
Rahul wrote: “As always, the BJP’s system continued to shield the accused — and forced an innocent daughter to set herself on fire. Modiji, whether in Odisha or Manipur— the daughters of the nation are burning, breaking and dying. And you? You remain silent. The country does not need your silence, it needs answers. India’s daughters need safety and justice.”
Both the Congress and the BJD took to the streets and burnt effigies of the chief minister and higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj, demanding their resignation. The Congress also called for an Odisha bandh on July 17, supported by Left parties.
Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik wrote on his X: “The most painful part is that this was not an accident, but rather the result of a system that remained silent instead of helping. Struggling for justice, the girl ultimately closed her eyes.”
Even as chief minister Majhi held a high-level meeting on the issue, a scientific team on Tuesday reached the college to inquire about the immediate circumstances in which the student had set herself on fire.
The team will try to find out who supplied petrol to the girl and why her classmates, instead of trying to stop her, were busy capturing the incident on their mobile phones. Only one student, Jyoti Prakash Biswal, tried to rescue her and also sustained injuries.
The deceased’s father, Balaram Bisi told mediapersons that his daughter would have been alive today had the college authorities ensured justice. However, Bisi urged all not to politicise the issue.
Rahul slammed
Even as the Majhi government announced an ex gratia of ₹20 lakh for family members of the deceased, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticised Rahul Gandhi for being insensitive and calling the girl’s death an “organised murder.”
“The cheap politics played by Rahul Gandhi and Congress on the tragic incident involving Odisha’s daughter is extremely unfortunate. Turning a serious and sensitive matter into a political weapon reflects Rahul Gandhi’s petty mindset,” Pradhan wrote on his X handle.