Bhubaneswar: Odisha saw a disturbing trend of crimes against women, which included 3,205 cases of rape, in the last 15 months, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi informed the Odisha Assembly on Monday.
In a written reply to a query by BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya, the CM, who holds the Home portfolio, revealed that 40,947 cases related to crimes against women were registered between July 2024 and September 2025 across the state.
Besides 3,205 rape case, the state reported 202 attempted rapes, 440 cases of false promises of marriage, 9,851 cases of exploitation, 1,476 sexual assaults, 8,863 abductions, 5,861 cases of dowry-related torture, 6,773 cases of exploitation combined with torture, and 49 dowry deaths.
The data further revealed 2,310 cases of public disrobing, 152 cases of voyeurism, and 556 cases of
stalking. There were also 4 acid attacks, 129 trafficking cases, and 796 incidents of eve-teasing.
The CM’s reply came on a day when a 17-year-old girl, harassed and stalked by a bus helper for almost two years, died after allegedly attempting self-immolation at her house in Rajgangpur’s Lanjibera area on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Earlier on July 14, a student in FM Autonomous College in Balasore tragically died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar after attempting self-immolation, protesting against sexual harassment by a senior faculty member.
On July 19, a 15-year-old girl, who allegedly set herself ablaze and suffered over 70% burn injuries, died during treatment at AIIMS, New Delhi on August 2.
August reported two more similar incidents. While 20-year-old undergraduate student in Kendrapara district died on August 6 after allegedly being blackmailed by her male friend, a 13-year-old schoolgirl died after self-immolating in a field near her maternal uncle’s house under Phiringmal police station in Bargarh district on August 11.
The state also saw the alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old female college student by around 10 men on the Gopalpur sea beach of Ganjam District in Odisha on June 15.