A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Orissa High Court seeking a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the tragic suicide of a 20-year-old B.Ed student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, Balasore. The petition alleges grave institutional negligence and harassment that led the student to self-immolate in protest.

Allegations of Harassment and Administrative Complicity

Advocate Shivashankar Mohanty, who filed the PIL, argued that the student had faced prolonged sexual harassment at the hands of a professor, Samir Sahu, and was later coerced into withdrawing her formal complaint. The student eventually set herself ablaze on July 12 on the college campus and succumbed to 95% burn injuries on July 14 at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The petition also criticizes the college administration for failing to act in accordance with the 2015 University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines on sexual harassment redressal mechanisms.

Demand for Independent Investigation and Systemic Reforms

The PIL requests the formation of an SIT comprising experienced investigators to conduct an impartial probe under the supervision of the Orissa High Court. It also seeks annual status reports from the Odisha Crime Branch and mandates a parallel fact-finding process by a UGC-appointed team. Further, the petitioner urges the court to direct state-wide enforcement of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) across all higher education institutions.

Crime Branch Intensifies Inquiry

Meanwhile, the Odisha Crime Branch has stepped up its investigation. A two-member team questioned Jyotiprakash Bishwal, a fellow student who tried to save the victim and is now recovering from 15% burns at SCB Medical College in Cuttack. Separately, IG S. Saini led a three-member team to Fakir Mohan College, where they spent over five hours interviewing faculty and ICC members, and inspecting the site of the incident. DSP Tapaswini Kuwar termed the case “sensitive” but did not disclose findings.

Legal and Political Ramifications

The petition has named the Chief Secretary of Odisha, the Director General of Police, the UGC, and leaders of major political parties including the BJD and Congress as respondents. It criticizes bandh calls by political parties in response to the incident, citing Supreme Court rulings against such actions that inconvenience the public. The PIL also notes that both the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women have launched their own inquiries into the case.

Nationwide Outrage and Call for Reform

The student’s suicide has triggered widespread public anger, shedding light on the unsafe environments in educational institutions and failures in grievance redressal mechanisms. The outcome of this PIL could lead to landmark judicial intervention in how sexual harassment cases are handled in Odisha’s colleges and universities—potentially bringing long-overdue reforms to ensure safety and justice for students.

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