"She Was Murdered": Father Of Odisha Woman Who Set Herself On Fire

The father of the victim who died from self-immolation in Odisha's Balasore on Tuesday claimed that his daughter did not die by suicide but was murdered.

He demanded that the state government treat the case as a murder and punish all those involved.

Speaking to ANI, the victim's father said, "Everyone together forced my daughter to die. Isn't that murder? I believe it was a conspiracy because she used to raise her voice in college, and they didn't like it."

Referring to her last visit to the college principal's office, the victim's father questioned the circumstances leading to her death.

"They all conspired to force my daughter to commit suicide. Why did she commit suicide right after coming out of the Principal's room? Something must have happened inside. What happened inside? Why was she called in alone? Why wasn't I or my son called? I request the government to acknowledge that my daughter didn't die, she was killed, and everyone should be charged with murder," he said.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will organise a protest rally on Wednesday in response to the death of a 20-year-old student, who died after setting herself on fire following repeated complaints of sexual harassment by a college teacher that were allegedly ignored.

The party has also demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for the victim's family and a judicial inquiry into the incident.

BJD MLA Goutam Buddha Das told ANI, "It is very unfortunate news that a girl from our constituency died due to self-immolation. The student was being harassed by her teacher. She complained to the college principal, went to the MPs, and tweeted the same to the CM and the education minister. No one listened to her. The government is responsible for this."

"We have decided to close Balasore tomorrow. We will organise a protest rally. We demand that the family of the victim should get the compensation of Rs 1 crore, and a judicial inquiry should happen," he added.

The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus last Saturday.

She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, hospital authorities said.

In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)