August 4, 2025

In a tragic incident in Balasore district of Odisha, two men have been arrested by the Crime Branch for allegedly instigating a 20-year-old college student to commit self-immolation following unaddressed complaints of sexual harassment. The arrests, made late on Sunday, are connected to the death of the victim, a student at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, who set herself on fire on July 12. The woman’s case was marked by distress, as her complaint against the head of the Integrated BEd department was reportedly not validated by the internal enquiry committee of the college, leading to her desperate act. The two arrested individuals are Jyoti Prakash Biswal, a college student who tried to save her and suffered burn injuries in the process, and Subhra Sambait Nayak, the state joint secretary of a student organization. Biswal had only recently recovered from his injuries and was discharged from SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack. Both men were apprehended at their homes and have since been presented to the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court in Balasore, where they were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody after their bail requests were denied. The police investigation also led to the arrest of an assistant professor, Samira Kumar Sahoo, and a former college principal, Dillip Ghose, for charges related to the abetment of suicide. This case not only highlights serious issues regarding how educational institutions handle sexual harassment allegations but also raises concerns about student welfare and safety. The incident deeply shocked the local community, sparking discussions on the need for more robust protective measures for victims of harassment and better mechanisms to address their grievances. The young woman sustained 95 percent burn injuries from self-immolation and succumbed to her injuries on July 14 while receiving treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The ongoing investigations aim to address both the acts of instigation and any failings in the institutional response to her complaint of harassment, ensuring justice for the victim and a careful examination of the systemic issues at play in these types of cases.

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Tags: Odisha, Balasore, Self-immolation, Sexual harassment, College,