The 22-year-old Odisha student who self-immolated outside her college principal’s office had, just eleven days before she took the drastic step, warned authorities of dire consequences if no action was taken against a senior professor she accused of sexual harassment.
In her letter dated 1 July, addressed to the authorities of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, the second-year integrated BEd student detailed months of alleged mental harassment by Assistant Professor Samir Kumar Sahu. She accused him of intimidation, coercion, and repeated demands for "sexual favours", and warned that if the college continued to ignore her pleas, she would end her life.
“For the last few months, the HoD of the BEd department, Assistant Professor Samir Kumar Sahu, has been harassing me mentally,” the student wrote. “He keeps threatening to ensure I fail, and has even said he will share my personal matters with my family. Most importantly, he is repeatedly asking for sexual favours, which I have consistently denied. I have lost my mental peace and attempted suicide. In the future, if the college authority does not take any action, I will commit suicide and the HoD and the college authority will be responsible.”
Just eleven days after sending that letter, she set herself on fire outside the Principal’s office, pouring petrol over her body before lighting the match. She was initially rushed to Balasore district hospital, then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar in a critical condition with 90% burns.
Despite the efforts of medical teams, she succumbed to her injuries late on Sunday night. “The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation,” AIIMS Bhubaneswar said in a statement. “Despite all supportive treatment, including renal replacement therapy, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 pm on 14 July.”
In the wake of her death, Odisha Police have arrested Professor Samir Kumar Sahu and the college’s principal, Dilip Ghose. Her suicide and the letter preceding it have sparked widespread outrage and calls for systemic reform in how institutions address complaints of harassment.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed his condolences and vowed strict action against those responsible. “I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul. May Lord Jagannath give her family the strength to bear this irreparable loss,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I assure the family that all the guilty parties will face the strictest punishment as per the law. I have personally instructed the authorities to act. The government stands firmly with the family.”
President Droupadi Murmu, who was in Bhubaneswar to attend the 5th convocation of AIIMS, made an unscheduled visit to the hospital’s burns unit on Monday, where she enquired about the student’s condition before her death.
Early on Tuesday morning, the young woman’s body was brought to her native village, Palasia, in Balasore district. As the ambulance arrived, the entire village gathered in mourning.
Meanwhile, opposition parties including the BJD and Congress have intensified their criticism of the ruling BJP government in Odisha. They alleged the student was pushed to the brink by institutional negligence and a system that failed to act on her complaint in time.
