On the night of July 14, 2025, a 20-year-old woman, an Integrated B.Ed student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, Odisha, died in the burns ICU at AIIMS Bhubaneswar after battling for life for nearly 48 hours. As reported by The Indian Express, she had suffered 90–95% burns after self-immolating on campus, in front of the principal’s office. Her final act was a devastating protest against months of alleged sexual harassment by a professor, threats to her academic future, and the utter failure of authorities to protect her.
This was not just a death—it was a public indictment of the system, an institutional murder carried out by neglect, indifference, and patriarchal complicity. Her body burned because her voice was buried.
Six months of harassment, two suicide attempts, and deafening silence
The accused, Dr. Samir Kumar Sahu, was head of the Education Department. Over the past six months, he allegedly made sexual advances, then threatened to fail the student in exams and ruin her academic record when she refused, as reported by The Hindu. The student, an active member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), submitted formal complaints not only to her college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) but also to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and the National Commission for Women (NCW).
But her pleas went unanswered. When she asked the principal, Dilip Ghose, for help, he allegedly mocked her and threatened rustication if she pursued her complaint. According to her family, the student had earlier tried to end her life twice due to the relentless harassment.
On July 1, she submitted a final complaint, warning she was under mental stress and could be forced to take an “extreme step.” On July 9, the college ICC gave a clean chit to Sahu, further isolating her. That same week, police claimed they were still waiting on the college’s response to her complaint before acting, according to the report of Hindustan Times.
The Act of Fire: A final protest no one could ignore
On the morning of July 13, the young woman staged a dharna outside the principal’s chamber. Moments after leaving his office, she poured petrol on herself and set herself ablaze, as caught on CCTV footage. Fellow students rushed to save her, several suffering injuries in the process.
She was rushed to Balasore District Headquarters Hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar, where a team of 8 specialist doctors took charge of her care. Despite intensive efforts, including mechanical ventilation and renal therapy. She died on the night of July 14, reported by ANI.
In her final hours, President Droupadi Murmu and Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati visited her at AIIMS, and assured the family of every possible support. But to many watching, their presence seemed symbolic—arriving only after the flames had done their damage.
Arrests after Death: Too late, too convenient
Public outrage following her death forced the state’s hand. The Higher Education Department of Odisha suspended both Sahu and Ghose. Police arrested them for abetment of suicide, criminal intimidation, and for failing to act on sexual harassment complaints, according to Times of India.
But the student’s father, himself a clerk at a local college, said the system had already failed his daughter. As per TOI, he alleged that Sahu constantly harassed her over attendance, despite her having valid health and family emergencies. When she asked for leniency, he demanded sexual favours in return. No internal or police authority took decisive action, even after she detailed her distress.
A State Awash in Sexual Violence: Multiple incidents of rapes, gang rapes in the past one month
Her case is the most tragic, but not the only one. Odisha is now gripped by a disturbing wave of sexual violence, particularly targeting young women, minors, and vulnerable groups.in the month of June, at least seven major gang rape or assault cases were reported:
- June 15: A 20-year-old college student allegedly gang-raped by 10 men on Gopalpur Beach.
- June 16: A 17-year-old girl from Keonjhar allegedly gang-raped and murdered.
- June 17: A disabled woman allegedly sexually assaulted while bathing at a village pond.
- June 22: Two women, including a 22-year-old from Delhi, allegedly molested and attacked in Jajpur.
- June 23: A minor girl allegedly raped by a fake homeopathy doctor in Berhampur, aided by his assistant and an Anganwadi worker.
- June 24: A woman allegedly gang-raped at a deserted dhaba in Mayurbhanj.
- June 28: A Class 7 girl allegedly raped by her relative in Ganjam.
As reported by The Hindu, A white paper on crime, released by the Odisha Home Department in March 2025, recorded 3,054 rape cases in 2024—an 8% increase from 2023.
Political Firestorm: Sympathy, outrage, and damage control
The student’s death has catalysed rare bipartisan outrage. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) announced an All-Odisha Students’ Strike. Former CM Naveen Patnaik called it a “collapse of institutional protection”. The Congress dispatched a 5-member all-women fact-finding team, and the NCW demanded a full inquiry. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Odisha government on both the self-immolation and the Gopalpur gang rape, as per the report of India Today.
Chief Minister Mohan Majhi visited AIIMS and promised “strict action” and “justice through fast-track courts.” But his government is already under fire for delayed police action, non-functioning ICCs, and an alarming breakdown of law and order, especially in educational institutions.
Conclusion: She burned because they wouldn’t listen
This was not a tragedy of impulse. It was the culmination of a system-wide failure—from the ICC to the police, from the classroom to the state assembly. The student wrote. She warned. She protested. And when no one believed her, she turned her own body into a burning letter of last resort.
If this death is allowed to fade into the next news cycle, it won’t just be an injustice to her. It will be a signal to every other survivor in Odisha, and across India, that silence is still safer than speaking out.
Her name may not be remembered, but the image of a young woman setting herself on fire in front of her college principal’s door, after being denied every possible avenue of justice, must haunt our collective conscience until every ICC function, every complaint is heard, and no girl has to burn just to be believed.
Related:
When Courts Fail Survivors: How patriarchy shapes justice in sexual offence against women cases
Surviving Communal Wrath: Women who have defied the silence, demanded accountability from the state