ABVP Leader And Another Individual Arrested in Odisha Student’s Self-Immolation Case

Police in Odisha have arrested two more individuals, including a state joint secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in connection with the self-immolation of a 20-year-old college student in Balasore. The student had taken the extreme step after the college administration allegedly failed to act on her sexual harassment complaint against a senior faculty member.

ABVP leader Subhat Sandeep Nayak and another individual, Jyoti Prakash Biswal, were taken into custody on Monday. According to officials, both were allegedly present when the second-year B.Ed student set herself on fire outside the Principal’s office at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in early July. The student, who suffered 90% burn injuries, died in hospital on July 15, an event that has since sparked significant political unrest and widespread outrage across the state.

The investigation revealed that the student’s desperate act followed repeated complaints against her Head of Department (HOD), Sameer Ranjan Sahoo. She had accused Sahoo of persistent sexual harassment, seeking sexual favors, and threatening her with academic failure. Police believe the immediate trigger for the self-immolation was a meeting with the college Principal, Dillip Ghose, during which the student was allegedly pressured and shamed into withdrawing her complaint filed with the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). The victim’s family, in their FIR, claimed the Principal told her she would be driven to suicide if she did not retract her allegations.

The HOD, Sahoo, and Principal Ghose had been arrested earlier and suspended from their positions. They face serious charges, including abetment to suicide, sexual harassment, and outraging the modesty of a woman. The probe further revealed that Sahoo had allegedly mobilized a group of students to campaign against the victim in an attempt to pressure the administration.

The case has escalated into a major political controversy, with opposition parties criticizing the state government for its handling of the matter and demanding greater accountability to prevent such incidents in the future.