Harassed by the head of her department, who is accused of asking her for sexual favours repeatedly and threatening to ruin her life if she did not agree, a student self-immolated at a Balasore college in Odisha. The woman has received 95 per cent burns and another student who attempted to save her also received 70 per cent burns.
The department head has been detained. He and the college principal have also been suspended by the higher education department. "Strict action will be taken against them," was what the state's higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj had to say.
The woman, who is a student of the integrated B.Ed programme, had lodged a complaint on July 1 to the internal complaints committee of Fakir Mohan College. She had complained that her head of department, Samir Kumar Sahu, had been demanding "favours" from her and had threatened her.
Sources stated that the student was promised action within seven days, but nothing was done. On Saturday morning, the woman and a group of other students initiated a protest outside the college gate. The woman's fellow students have said that she suddenly stood up, moved to a section near the principal's office, used petrol to burn herself.
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A video captures the woman on fire, rushing into a college corridor. A male attempts to assist her, but recoils when his t-shirt catches fire. The student exits the corridor and other individuals are seen attempting to put the fire out.
College principal Dilip Ghosh said the complaint from the student had been logged and the internal committee was preparing to submit a report.
"The student visited me in my office today and told me that she was under tremendous mental pressure. She requested me to call Sahu to the office, which I did," said Ghosh.
"I made both the student and the teacher aware of the repercussions if any of their words were proved to be lies. Sahu refuted the claims and the woman too remained firm," he added.
Protests intensified in the college after the woman took her own life by self-immolation. Superintendent of Police (Balasore) Raj Praspas said, "The teacher has been arrested. Evidence-gathering teams have been dispatched there. Whoever will be found guilty will be booked." The student and woman who sustained burn injuries while trying to rescue her are being treated at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
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