Balasore: Hours after the arrest of an ABVP leader and a student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, CCTV footage on Monday revealed that the 20-year-old victim had herself purchased petrol with the intent to take her own life.
The second-year Integrated BEd student was captured riding a bicycle to a petrol pump 500-600 metres from the campus and buying petrol shortly after meeting the college principal about her complaint against Head of the Education Department Samira Kumar Sahu, at 10.44 am on July 12.
Sources indicate she was distressed by the college’s inadequate response to her harassment allegations and attempted self-immolation in front of the principal’s chamber around noon that day. The student, who sustained 90 per cent burn injuries, died two days later while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar after an almost 60-hour battle for life.
While visuals suggest the victim’s deliberate actions before the tragic event, the Crime Branch, which is investigating the incident, is yet to issue any statement on the CCTV footage.
Source said that the Crime Branch is verifying the authenticity of the footage and cross-checking it with witness statements and transaction records from nearby filling stations.
Late on Sunday, the agency apprehended an FM College student, identified as Jyoti Prakash Biswal, and Subhat Sandeep Nayak, the state joint secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student wing affiliated to RSS, on charges of abetment.
They were allegedly present at the time of the incident. Biswal was previously hailed as a hero for reportedly trying to save her. He had sustained burn injuries and was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Nayak, who had graduated from college, was also seen arguing with the principal on behalf of the deceased girl in several video footage. Both accused were produced before local court and were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Initially, Sahadevkhunta police had registered a case and arrested Sahu, and Principal Dillip Ghosh.
