Bhubaneswar, March 20: ?She too would have been taking her banking coaching like her other friends had she been alive,? uttered a sobbing Lalita Tripathy, recollecting how her 19-year-old daughter Richa Mishra aspired to become a bank officer after graduation.
Unable to come to terms with the alleged ?biased? evaluation by three lecturers of her college, the 19-year-old final year commerce student had hanged herself from a ceiling fan at her home here on November 18, 2005. She could secure only 58 per cent marks as against her expectation of 75 per cent.
Although four months have elapsed, the accused teachers are yet to be brought to book. While two of them are said to be absconding, another is seen roaming freely in the city. ?The pittance of adding 52 marks to her paper is not enough. We will fight for justice,? said Tripathy.
The girl?s father, Prassana Kumar Mishra, an assistant professor, is determined to see the accused behind bars.
The teenager had left a three-page suicide note, accusing three lecturers of BJB College ? D.P. Patnaik, Sahadev Swain and Ananda Patnaik ? of constantly harassing her for not taking tuition from them. Richa had held the trio responsible for her death.
After the initial hue and cry over the incident, nothing concrete has happened yet.
?She had urged me to file a police case against the accused trio and I will not relax till I get justice for my late daughter,? said Richa?s father, who met the police superintendent today. He is yet to receive a copy of the FIR registered with Khandagiri police.
The accused teachers, were suspended and proceedings initiated against them at the behest of the higher education department. Apprehending danger, the teachers had applied for bail, which was rejected. ?I will file a PIL if things are not sorted out immediately,? said Mishra.
Speaking to The Telegraph, higher education secretary Swapneswar Baya said the proceedings involve the appointment of an investigative officer, a step that is yet to be taken.
Expressing helplessness, city SP Amitabh Thakur said: ?We are still waiting for the reports from the higher education department.?
