Bhubaneswar: On the back foot following a series of self-immolation cases, the Odisha government on Tuesday asked the police to review women’s grievances and take proactive measures.
The Odisha Police’s Crime Against Women and Children Wing (CAW&CW) instructed all Superintendents of Police (SPs) to examine pending and new complaints from women and girls and advise distressed individuals to seek mental health support at district levels or via Tele-MANAS. “Anecdotal evidence of the negative influence of media reporting is increasingly accumulating in the Odisha context too, as many girls/women have taken recourse to the same method of self-immolation for committing suicide since the Balasore incident,” the letter said.
Police have also been directed to conduct awareness campaigns and workshops to identify vulnerable teenagers in collaboration with other government departments, promote mental health, build resilience and encourage timely help-seeking.
The letter also emphasised on media sensitisation on responsible reporting of suicide cases, understanding the sensitivity and potential negative influences.
Earlier in the day, Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik had accused the state’s BJP government of failing to create confidence in the system, which led to the deaths of four women due to self-immolation in the last one month. The desperation of the victims is not just a personal tragedy, but reflects the failure to hear their issues, he said.
“These four deaths are not stray cases — there are many such girls who are dying in the most tragic way possible after being subjected to crime every day. Their desperation is not just a personal tragedy. Each tragedy reflects the failure to hear their screams. The BJP administration is failing to create confidence in the system where our daughters feel safe, valued and heard,” he wrote in a post on social media.
On July 12, a 20-year-old student in Balasore district set herself on fire over alleged sexual harassment by a professor and institutional neglect.
On July 19, a 15-year-old girl suffered burn injuries in Balanga in coastal Odisha’s Puri district. She died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Delhi on August 2. While her mother, in the FIR, claimed that she was abducted and set on fire by three persons, police later concluded that no one else was involved in the incident. Her father, in a video message, also stated that she was suffering from mental stress and died by suicide.
On August 6, another 20-year-old college student allegedly immolated herself at her house in a village under Pattamundai Rural police station of Kendrapada district following blackmail threats from her boyfriend.
The latest incident involved a 13-year-old girl, who was found lying unconscious in a football field with her body almost completely charred at Phiringimal under Gaesilat police limits in Bargarh district. She died while undergoing treatment at VIMSAR, Burla, on August 11. “So far, it appears to be related to family issues and investigation is going on. We urge that no one should take extreme steps…,’ IG (North Range) Himanshu Lal told the media.