BHUBANESWAR/BALASORE: The Crime Branch on Sunday night arrested two youths including the state joint secretary of ABVP in connection with the self-immolation of the 20-year-old girl student of FM (Autonomous) College, Balasore, on the campus, on July 12.
Subhra Sambit Nayak, the state joint secretary of ABVP, and Jyoti Prakash Biswal, a student of the same college have been accused of instigating the girl to set herself on fire. Biswal had even recorded the video of the girl after she doused herself with petrol and lit the fire. He was allegedly also reporting the happenings to Nayak from the campus.
Biswal, however, then realised the matter had gone too far and rushed to rescue the victim, sustaining serious burn injuries in the attempt. He was admitted to SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack and arrested after being discharged, police said.
With this, the number of arrests made so far in connection with the case has gone up to four. Earlier, police had registered a case and arrested the HoD, Samira Kumar Sahoo, and college principal Dillip Ghosh.
Amid a massive political slugfest, Odisha Police had ordered a Crime Branch probe into the incident. Immediately afterwards, the Crime Against Women and Children Wing (CAW&CW) unit took up the investigation.
The incident had taken place on July 12. The girl, a second-year BEd student, had set herself ablaze outside the principal’s office chamber alleging harassment by Sahoo. She was being treated at the AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed on July 14 night.