Odisha sexual harassment case: Student's ‘will commit suicide’ warning went unheeded before self-immolation

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Eleven days before she doused herself in petrol and set herself ablaze outside her college principal’s office, a 22-year-old BEd student in Odisha’s Balasore had written a desperate letter warning she would die by suicide if no action was taken against the faculty member she accused of sexual harassment, NDTV reported.

Her prediction came tragically true early Tuesday when she succumbed to 95% burns at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, sparking nationwide outrage over institutional failure. The student’s desperate act occurred during a peaceful protest outside the college, where she and her peers had demanded action since July 1.

A male student attempting to rescue her also suffered burns.

The victim, a second-year student at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, had detailed her ordeal in a July 1 letter to the internal complaints committee (ICC), reportedly obtained by NDTV. She named Samir Kumar Sahu, head of the education department, alleging he demanded sexual favours and threatened to sabotage her academics. "If the college authority does not take any action, I will commit suicide, and the HoD and college authority will be responsible," she wrote.

Ignored by the college, the student carried out her threat on July 5, collapsing during a protest with peers who had demanded Sahu’s arrest since June. The ICC, mandated under India’s sexual harassment laws, had failed to act - a lapse that cost her life, her family alleges.

As per TimesNow, her father demanded arrests beyond the principal and accused professor, “The principal has been arrested, but just arresting the principal won’t do anything. Those who were in the internal committee, who prepared the report, should also be taken into custody. They killed my daughter to save their college. They should also be arrested.”  Both Sahu and principal Dilip Ghose were suspended and later arrested, but protesters argue the ICC members must also face consequences.

President Droupadi Murmu, visiting AIIMS for an event, made an unscheduled stop at the burns ward hours before the student’s death, offering comfort and prayers. Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi pledged "strictest punishment" in an X post, while opposition parties slammed the BJP government. BJD leader Snehangini Chhuria accused the system of turning "beti bachao" (save the daughter) into "beti jalao" (burn the daughter), TimesNow reported.

Doctors at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, including a team consulting AIIMS Delhi, battled for three days to save her. Medical Superintendent Dr Dillip Kumar Parida had earlier confirmed her “critical” condition, with 95% burns and renal failure requiring dialysis.