A 20-year-old student from a college in Balasore is battling for life after a self-immolation bid following alleged sexual harassment by her professor, sparking statewide outrage and protests.
A second-year student of the Integrated B.Ed course at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, has sustained 95 per cent burn injuries and is undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
The girl had accused the head of the education department, Samir Sahu, of repeatedly seeking sexual favours and threatening academic consequences when she refused. Despite raising the matter with the college principal and the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), no action was allegedly taken.
Chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi visited the hospital on Sunday and assured the best possible care and action against the guilty after an inquiry by a three-member team set up by the higher education department.
“The girl’s condition is critical. Even though we plan to airlift the girl to AIIMS, Delhi, but it’s not possible. We will ensure that the guilty be punished. We will come out with specific guidelines to ensure that no such incident takes place in any of the educational institutes of the state,” Majhi said.
Sahu has since been arrested, and the college principal, Dilip Ghose, has been suspended. Officials said the girl had submitted written complaints on July 1 and again approached the principal on Saturday. When she failed to receive a satisfactory assurance, she allegedly set herself ablaze outside his office.
A male student, Jyoti Prakash Biswal, who tried to save her, also sustained critical injuries and is undergoing treatment.
Protests erupted across the state on Sunday. BJD activists gheraoed the chief minister’s residence while Congress workers demonstrated in Bhubaneswar.
Former chief minister and leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik accused the government of turning a blind eye to the girl’s repeated cries for help.
“She was allegedly subjected to relentless sexual harassment by a teacher who repeatedly demanded sexual favours. In a letter to the principal, she revealed that she had earlier attempted suicide but was saved. For months, she lived in fear and anguish. On July 1, in a desperate plea for help, she posted her grievance on social media, tagging several top officials. But with no action forthcoming, she tragically resorted to setting herself on fire, right outside the principal’s chamber, in a final attempt to end her suffering,” Naveen wrote on X.
“This tragic incident lays bare the stark reality of how she was denied justice, despite repeatedly voicing her grievances from the college principal to the higher education minister and right upto Union minister and the chief minister,” he added, urging the governor to intervene.
BJD women’s wing leader Pramilla Mallick demanded the chief minister take responsibility and step down. “What is this government doing? The chief minister should take responsibility and apologise to the parents of the girl. He should step down,” she said.
Odisha Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das, who met the girl’s parents on Sunday, said the Majhi government had failed to protect the dignity of women.
AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has constituted a 10-member medical team to monitor the case. “We are doing our best to give the best treatment to the victim. But her condition is critical,” said executive director Ashutosh Biswas.
President Droupadi Murmu is reportedly scheduled to visit AIIMS, Bhubaneswar on Monday to enquire about the condition of the student.
