Bhubaneswar: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has strongly criticised the Odisha Police for what it alleged biased actions in the tragic self-immolation case of the 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Odisha’s Balasore.
This came a day after the state Crime Branch arrested two ABVP members, including one who was hailed for attempting to save her, for allegedly abetting her suicide.
The ABVP described the police action as “biased and politically motivated”.
The organisation alleged that the late-night arrest of two ABVP members indicated a political conspiracy to protect influential figures responsible for her harassment. “The girl who resorted to self-immolation was an ABVP member. Some ABVP activists who tried to save her were arrested by the police. This behaviour not only highlights the failure of Odisha Police, but also exposes their biased approach,” it said in a statement.
The students’ body further claimed that the drastic step by the second-year Integrated BEd student stemmed from prolonged mental harassment, including social media character assassination, allegedly by the head of the Education department in the college and student leaders linked to Congress and BJD. “Shifting the blame of institutional and police failure in the Balasore self-immolation incident onto the students who tried to save the victim is a deeply rooted political conspiracy,” it added.
It also highlighted that no action has been taken against the alleged harassers. “The ABVP demands an impartial and comprehensive investigation into this entire matter. The investigation must not remain limited to the incident alone, but should also examine the long-standing mental and institutional harassment that forced Soumyashree to take such an extreme step. Strict and immediate action must be taken against those responsible for character assassination and mental torture, regardless of their designation or political affiliation, so that justice can be ensured for the victim and such incidents do not recur in the future,” The Tribune reported, quoting ABVP national general secretary Virendra Singh Solanki.
ABVP state secretary (east) Diptimayee Pratihari said they are ready to cooperate with the police but warned against any attempts to harass or falsely implicate its members.
Police Investigation Revealed….
Jyoti Prakash Biswal (19), a student of the college, and Subhra Sambit Nayak (22), state joint secretary of ABVP, have ben accused of instigating the 20-year-old girl to take the drastic step after the college administration failed to act on her sexual harassment complaint.
According to the probe agency, Biswal suffered burns while filming the incident on his mobile phone from close range. He sustained 15% burns and was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, where he claimed that he had rushed towards the girl when she lit the match.
Both accused were produced before local court and were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Interestingly, the BJD described the arrests as an eyewash. “The two arrested ABVP members are minnows. The government is trying to protect some big fish, who conspired in her death,” BJD MLA Goutam Buddha Das told reporters.
The Self-Immolation
On July 12, Soumyashree poured petrol and set herself on fire outside the principal’s office protesting against the administration’s inaction on her sexual harassment complaint. She died two days later while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.
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