Odisha Police arrest two more in Balasore self-immolation case

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The Crime Branch of Odisha Police arrested two persons in connection with a student’s self-immolation on the campus of F.M. Autonomous College, Balasore, leading to her death last month, news agency PTI reported on Monday, citing police.

The Crime Branch apprehended the duo late on Sunday, a senior officer confirmed. As per the report, the arrested persons are Jyoti Prakash Biswal, a student of the college, who had sustained burn injuries in an attempt to save the woman, and Subhra Sambait Nayak, the state joint secretary of a student organisation.

The woman student had set herself on fire on July 12 after an internal enquiry committee failed to validate her sexual harassment complaint. She died two days later, on July 14.

Biswal was recently discharged from the SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack after recovering from burn injuries. Both persons were picked up from their residences late on Sunday, an officer was quoted by PTI as saying.

Earlier, Samira Kumar Sahoo, an assistant professor of the college, and ex-principal of the institute, Dillip Ghose, were arrested on charges of abetment of suicide.

The police were quoted by PTI as saying that Biswal and Nayak were produced before the residential office of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Balasore, on Sunday night, and were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days after their bail petitions were rejected.

The woman student had on July 12 poured petrol on her body and set herself on fire for allegedly being denied justice in a sexual harassment case against the head of the department (HoD) of Integrated BEd. As per the report, she sustained 95 per cent burn injuries and died on the night of July 14 while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, the police had said.