Odisha student death: Bandh brings life to a halt, Crime Branch to probe case

Even as a Congress-led seven-party Odisha bandh brought normal life to a grinding halt in the state on Thursday, the Mohan Majhi government responded to the Opposition’s call for justice for the family of the 20-year-old college student from Balasore — who on Monday succumbed to burn injuries sustained during a self-immolation bid on 12 July — by handing over the investigation to the Crime Branch.

Sources said the Crime Branch was asked to take over the case as the role of the police in the matter has come under suspicion. Police had earlier registered a case under BNS sections 75 (1) (III) (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking), 79 (outraging modesty), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 108/3(5) (abetment to suicide).

Meanwhile, an assistant professor of GM University in Sambalpur was arrested for allegedly establishing a sexual relationship with a female student after falsely promising to marry her.

The accused Gopikant Suna, an assistant professor of Education, was arrested following a complaint by the victim, a second-year student of the university, on 16 July. The accused had allegedly exploited her physically on multiple occasions on the pretext of marriage. However, he later refused to marry her, forcing the latter to file a police complaint. The university has placed Suna under suspension. 

In the first case, the deceased, a second-year student of Integrated BEd course at Balasore's Fakir Mohan College, had brought charges of sexual harassment against assistant professor and head of the Education department Samira Sahu, who has since been arrested. College principal Dilip Ghosh, who allegedly tried to shield Sahu even after the matter was referred to the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), has also been arrested.

The student set herself ablaze on the college campus on 12 July after apparently failing to receive redress from the college authorities and the ICC. Rushed to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with 90 per cent burn injuries, she breathed her last on 14 July.   

Both Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) — the two major Opposition parties at the forefront of the agitation to ensure justice for the deceased and her family — have termed the Crime Branch probe an eyewash and reiterated their demand for a judicial inquiry.

Insisting that his party would be satisfied with nothing less than an inquiry by a sitting high court judge, senior BJD leader and former law minister Pratap Jena said, "The Crime Branch is very much part of the same government system that failed the girl." Earlier, Congress MLA Sofia Firdous had demanded the resignation of chief minister Majhi, and a judicial probe into the incident.

The demand has also been reiterated by Left parties, which joined hands with the Congress to enforce the Odisha bandh which paralysed normal life across the state as vehicular movement came to a standstill and shops and business establishments downed shutters. Most educational institutions remained closed and attendance in government offices including the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar was thin. With Opposition activists blocking major roads, Majhi reached his secretariat office in a heavily guarded convoy of vehicles.   

A host of Opposition leaders, including Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu, were detained by the police. Speaking to the media, Lallu said, "We want the resignation of the chief minister and every other leader who failed the girl by denying her justice. This government is trying to intimidate the Opposition by resorting to repressive measures but we won’t be cowed down. We are ready for a long fight.”    

State Congress president and former Union minister Bhakta Charan Das described the bandh as highly successful and part of Congress’ continuing fight for the safety and dignity of women. “There have been 2,000 rape and 77 gang-rape cases in the state this year so far. Our party has been waging a battle on this issue for a long time. Our fight will continue,” he said.

The Congress-led bandh came within 24 hours of a massive demonstration by the BJD in Bhubaneswar and Balasore. Trying to force entry into the Lok Seva Bhavan — the main state secretariat building — at least three senior BJD leaders, including two former ministers, sustained injuries and had to be hospitalised as police used batons and water cannons.

BJD leaders alleged that police also used rubber bullets, a charge denied by senior police officers. Former chief minister and leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik came down heavily on the Mohan Majhi government for using repressive measures to suppress democratic protests.

“The right to democratic protest is under grave threat in #Odisha. Today, the @bjd_odisha exercised its constitutional right to hold a peaceful demonstration, protesting the tragic death of a 20-year-old girl student — a victim of systemic apathy and sheer betrayal. As BJD leaders marched in a disciplined manner towards Lok Seva Bhawan, the police unhesitatingly used water cannons to disperse the peaceful crowd. Shockingly, they even fired rubber bullets without any provocation,” Patnaik wrote on his X handle.   

Women activists are aghast that neither the government nor the authorities of Fakir Mohan College could provide protection to the student, who continued to press charges of sexual harassment against Sahu. A self-defence trainer and an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (the BJP's students' wing), she is reported to have opened an X account on 25 June and tweeted about her ordeal to the chief minister, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, local MLA Manas Kumar Dutta and Balasore SP Raj Prasad. However, it seems her tweet went unnoticed.

Firebrand women's activist Tapsee Prahraj described the death of the girl as “institutional murder”, reflecting a complete failure of the system that should have offered her support. “The institution that she trusted failed her and instead supported the accused. This case also brings to the fore the disturbing trend of patriarchy being encouraged in our social and political system. In this particular case, the girl was even humiliated in the office of the principal where she was called and virtually ragged. She was made to feel small and guilty,” Prahraj said.   

Former BJD MLA Latika Pradhan also lamented the failure of college authorities to come to the young woman's rescue. “If an ABVP activist fails to get justice in a case of sexual harassment in a BJP-ruled state, one can well image the plight of ordinary women. It is not enough to arrest the principal and teacher who tortured and humiliated this girl, the government must ensure that the case is taken to its logical end.

"Even the members of the Internal Inquiry Committee (IIC) to which the girl’s complaint of sexual harassment had been referred, should be taken to task. They failed to deliver justice to her. The government must develop a fool-proof mechanism to protect women from this kind of harassment in education institutions as well their places of work,” she said.

Law minister Prithviraj Harichandan, however, accused the Opposition of trying to make political capital out of a human tragedy. "It is a disturbing trend. Opposition parties, instead of acting responsibly, are behaving like vultures ready to pounce on such issues only with the intention of embarrassing the government,” the minister said.

Even as the Crime Branch probe into the case continues, the University Grants Commission, too, is reported to have constituted a fact-finding committee and the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and sought an action taken report from the state’s director-general of police.

Sources say the Crime Branch is likely to expand the ambit of the probe to include hitherto unexplored angles, such as who provided petrol to the girl to set herself ablaze, and if there was any other provocation that led her to take the extreme step. Meanwhile, the state government has issued a directive to all district education officers (DEOs) to take immediate action to enhance the safety and well-being of women employees and ensure a secure environment for students, especially girls, in schools.

In an official letter, the school and mass education department has highlighted the importance of enforcing the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and DEOs have been tasked with overseeing the formation or reconstitution of ICCs in all eligible institutions within their jurisdiction.

To ensure access to support services, DEOs have been asked to ensure prominent display of helpline numbers provided by the government in all schools, workplaces, and residential hostels. These measures have been taken as part of a broader effort to create safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environments throughout the state.

This seems to be the only positive development in the wake of the tragic incident, which was preceded by a series of incidents of rape and gangrape in the state in the past month or so. While a young woman in the Karanjia area of tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj was allegedly gangraped on 24 June, a college girl was sexually assaulted by a group of men on the well-known Gopalpur beach on 15 June. The accused dragged the girl’s male friend away and tied him up before taking turns to rape her.

Mayurbhanj district was once again in focus when the husband of a 31-year-old woman filed a complaint at Baripada Sadar police station on 19 June alleging that four men known to the family entered their home while he and other family members were absent and raped his wife.

In the same month, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a clinic owner in Ganjam district. The accused committed the crime after assuring assistance to the girl in her BSc (Nursing) studies by providing her free accommodation.

Former Congress MLA Dr Lalatendu Mohapatra said, "Serious crimes against women are taking place in the state daily but the government seems to be sleeping. Our campaign to rouse the government out of its slumber and to ensure justice to women will continue.”