Tear gas, water cannon as protest rocks Odisha over student’s self-immolation

Intense chaos erupted outside the Odisha Assembly, Bidhan Sabha, this morning as numerous individuals protested after the death of a college student who self-immolated.

Security was heightened at the state secretariat Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar due to the BJD’s demonstration. The rival party, also implementing an eight-hour bandh in Balasore district, has been calling for a judicial investigation into the matter. Footage from the demonstration location captures protestors attempting to breach the barricade while police use water cannons to scatter them.

The state police fired tear gas canisters and used water cannons against the protestors. A diverse alliance of opposition parties in Odisha, spearheaded by the Congress, has also announced a statewide bandh on Thursday, July 17, in response.

The 20-year-old, studying B. Ed. at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, reportedly self-immolated on campus after suffering from extended sexual harassment. The woman suffered 90 percent burns and passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar on Monday night.

Her ongoing reports of sexual harassment by her Department head, Sameer Kumar Sahoo, supposedly went ignored by the principal and college officials, prompting her to take this extreme action. Students reported that the woman appeared visibly upset for several weeks, allegedly due to ongoing harassment from Sahoo, who is accused of making inappropriate requests and threatening academic consequences if she failed to comply.

Dillip Kumar Ghosh, the principal of the college, and the suspect, Sameer Kumar Sahoo, were apprehended after the event. Due to the protests, security has been increased around various government structures in the capital Bhubaneswar, including Rajiv Bhavan and Kharavela Bhavan, situated near Lok Seva Bhavan.