Days After Immolation, Another Professor Sexually Abuses Student In Odisha

Days after a student set herself on fire at a college in Odisha, another university is now under the scanner after one of its professors was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a student. The incident unfolded at the Gangadhar Meher University in the western Odisha city of Sambalpur.

This comes just days after the tragic death of a female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who set herself on fire alleging sexual harassment by a lecturer.

Gopichand Suna, according to police, lured the student to his government-provided quarters and sexually abused her. The arrest follows a complaint lodged by the student. Suna was taken into custody after preliminary investigations corroborated the student's account. The case has been registered under sections, and further inquiries are underway to establish the full details of the incident.

This incident marks the second high-profile case of alleged misconduct by a college lecturer in Odisha within a week. 

On Monday, a student from FM Autonomous College in Balasore succumbed to injuries after attempting self-immolation, alleging that a lecturer had sexually harassed her and that her complaints to college authorities, local MLAs, MPs, and even the Chief Minister's office went unheeded. 

The Balasore tragedy has sparked widespread protests, culminating in a 12-hour statewide bandh on Thursday, called by the opposition Congress and supported by seven other political parties, including the CPI, CPI(M), CPIM (ML), Forward Bloc, RJD, SP, and NCP.

The bandh, which began at 6 am and concluded at 6 pm, brought normal life in Odisha to a standstill, particularly affecting the transport and business sectors. Roads in major cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack wore a deserted look, with markets, schools, and commercial establishments shuttered across the state. 

Train services faced disruptions in some areas due to picketing on railway tracks, though an East Coast Railway (ECoR) official confirmed that police intervention allowed detained trains to resume operations later in the day. 

(With inputs from Dev Kumar Ghosh)