Balasore: Two more persons, including a leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), were arrested on Sunday in connection with the death of the 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore.
The student had set herself on fire on July 12, alleging sexual harassment by a professor and institutional neglect. She died on July 14.
One of those arrested by the Crime Branch on Sunday, on charges of inciting the young woman, was Jyoti Prakash Biswal, a student of the college. He had suffered burn injuries in an effort to save the woman and was admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
Biswal was arrested after being discharged from the hospital. The other person arrested is Subhra Sambit Nayak, state joint secretary of the ABVP, the students’ wing of the BJP.
The student who committed self immolation had brought about sexual harassment charges against Samira Kumar Sahu, head of the teacher education department of the college. An internal enquiry committee failed to validate her complaint, following which she poured petrol on herself and lit a match outside principal Dilip Ghosh’s chamber.
She was moved to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burns a couple of days later.
Her death led to a major political row with the Opposition BJD and Congress accusing the ruling BJP of trying to shield the accused. After coming under tremendous pressure, the case was handed over to the Crime Branch. Both Sahoo and college principal Ghosh were arrested.
The college had remained closed for about a week after the incident. Normal classes resumed on July 21 after which a Crime Branch team visited the campus and spoke to students and staff.
The exact cause behind the student’s death is still mired in mystery. A section of her batch mates have claimed that she brought about charges against Sahu after being denied permission to sit for her internal assessment examination due to poor attendance.
Her brother, however, maintained that the student’s charges against the professor were correct and a conspiracy was underway to defame her, both on social media and otherwise. The college principal was also part of the conspiracy, following which she took the ultimate step, he alleged.