A tragic episode of sustained sexual harassment, official indifference, and systemic failure claimed the life of a 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who succumbed to injuries after setting herself on fire in a desperate act of protest.
The second-year B.Ed (Integrated) student, affiliated with the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), had accused Samir Kumar Sahu, the head of the Education Department, of repeated sexual advances and intimidation. According to her family, the harassment escalated when she refused to comply with his demands — leading to targeted humiliation, academic penalties, and even threats of failure in exams.
Despite lodging multiple complaints over the past six months — including reaching out to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the National Commission for Women, and local police — her cries for justice were consistently met with silence.
On Saturday, in a final act of desperation, she doused herself in inflammable liquid and set herself ablaze outside the college principal’s chamber — a place she had frequently visited to demand accountability.
Rushed to AIIMS Bhubaneswar in critical condition, the student was placed on ventilator support in the burns ICU. A medical bulletin issued by AIIMS confirmed that despite intensive care, she passed away late Monday night.
The student’s death has sent shockwaves across Odisha. Chief Minister Majhi expressed deep grief and assured that “those found guilty will face the strictest punishment as per law.” President Droupadi Murmu personally visited AIIMS to meet the victim’s family, offering support and calling for justice. Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati also urged swift, responsible action to restore students’ faith in institutional safeguards.
Police have since arrested Principal Dilip Ghosh for allegedly shielding the accused professor and threatening the student with rustication if she did not retract her complaint. Sahu, who had been cleared by the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) just days earlier, was arrested shortly after the self-immolation incident.
The ICC — hastily formed after ABVP protests in late June — was sharply criticized for conducting a perfunctory inquiry. According to a Higher Education Department official, the committee’s investigation was “ambiguous and lacked depth.” Crucially, the professor continued teaching during the probe, and the victim was never offered psychological support.
The student’s father, a clerk at another college, recounted her long ordeal. “She was crushed — humiliated in class, denied exam access, and subjected to threats. When she asked me to lodge an FIR, she said she didn’t trust the college process,” he said. He added that she had attempted suicide twice in the past due to the constant harassment.
Despite tagging high-level officials on social media on June 25, her posts went unnoticed. Her final attempt to seek intervention on July 13 — the day before her self-immolation — was reportedly met with more pressure from the college to withdraw her complaint.
Widespread protests erupted across the state following her death. Student and youth wings of opposition parties staged demonstrations, demanding accountability from state and Union education authorities. Congress leaders in Balasore laid siege to the district collector’s office, while BJD-affiliated groups demanded resignations.
Under mounting pressure, the Odisha government has now directed all educational institutions to immediately constitute Internal Committees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, and display the names and contact information of committee members prominently.
Balasore police and a team from the State CID are continuing investigations into the roles of college officials and lapses in the inquiry process.
This tragic incident has laid bare the cracks in the institutional redressal systems meant to protect students. As outrage spreads, the haunting final words of the victim to her father — “They won’t let me live in peace” — now echo as a grim indictment of a system that failed her at every step.
