2 days ago
Balasore campus horror: Congress calls 'Odisha Bandh' on July 17; accuse BJP of 'cover up'
BHUBANESWAR: The Congress party has called for an "Odisha Bandh" on July 17 following the death of a 20-year-old BEd student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation after alleging sexual harassment by a faculty member.
The student, who sustained 90% burn injuries, died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar late Monday night despite intensive medical care.
Her death has triggered widespread outrage and political uproar across the state.
On Tuesday morning, tensions flared outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar as Congress workers staged a protest, demanding justice for the victim. Protesters were later detained by police.
AIIMS Bhubaneswar stated that the woman was brought to the casualty unit on July 12 after being referred from the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital.
She was admitted to the burns ICU but could not be revived despite advanced treatment.
Congress has slammed the state government for failing to act on the woman's harassment complaints and accused authorities of negligence, demanding accountability from both the college administration and the state.
Congress leader Yashir Nawaz slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of attempting to cover up the incident.
He demanded strict action against those responsible.
"They are trying to cover the incident with the help of is the fault of the BJP government. Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj must be removed. There must be strict action against those responsible. The government, with the help of the police, want to take the body away after the postmortem. There is no action against the Higher Education Minister; he has not been sacked.
No action has been taken against those responsible, " Nawaz said.
Nawaz further remarked that it was deeply unfortunate the student had to plead for justice and ultimately lost her life while fighting for dignity and self-respect.
"It is so unfortunate that a student begged for justice to the MP, SP, principal, Higher Education Minister and the CM, but even after being an ABVP leader, she was not safe. She lost her lie for her dignity and self-respect. We are protesting because they are conducting the post-mortem at 2 am. When we met the AIIMS doctors in the evening, they clearly told us that she was 95% burnt, she had low chances of survival, " he further added.
