Tragic Balasore Case: Student's Fatal Self-Immolation Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations
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HUBANESWAR/BALASORE: Burns over 70% of the body are life-threatening. The victim had more than 90%, said Dr Dillip Kumar Parida, medical superintendent of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
"She arrived dehydrated. Her urine had stopped. Respiratory burns had damaged her lungs. We tried hard. But the chances were always slim," Dr Parida added.
Odisha chief minister (CM) Mohan Charan Majhi has announced Rs 20 lakh in interim compensation for the family and promised the "strictest action" against those responsible for the student's self-immolation.
The young woman had filed a formal police complaint on July 1 against an assistant professor for sexual harassment, a day after first reporting the matter to the college principal and tagging state authorities in a social media post.
The college's students had been protesting since then, demanding action. The day of her self-immolation marked the eighth day of agitation.
Medical experts said that the severity of her injuries worsened when she ran while on fire, intensifying the burns. "In such cases, the first six hours are critical," said Dr Parida. "But she reached our facility four-and-a-half hours after the act. By then, it was already too late."
The student's death sparked a public reckoning over emergency response and fire safety awareness. Former chief fire officer Bhabagrahi Ghadei said that spraying water and covering her with a thick, wet cloth could have minimised the flames. "Rolling her on the ground or covering her would have saved her from deeper burns," he added.
Police have arrested the accused faculty member and the principal, who allegedly tried to pressure the student into withdrawing her complaint.
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A fact-finding committee has been set up by UGC, while governor and university chancellor Hari Babu Kambhampati vowed "uncompromising punishment".
The student's father is a clerk at a govt women's college. He stood near her pyre, trying to make sense of it all. "My daughter was a self-defence master trainer, disaster management trainee, best actress winner, poet, and social worker. Why would she take such an extreme step?" he asked.
"If the investigation had started earlier, maybe she would still be here." "She wanted to become a politician. I always wanted her to come home in a convoy, but she came in a hearse," her brother added.
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