KENDRAPARA/BHUBANESWAR: The charred body of a 20-year-old girl student was found in her house in a village under Pattamundai Rural police station of Kendrapara district on Wednesday morning.
Family members said the girl is suspected to have immolated herself following a blackmail threat from her boyfriend.
The victim was a Plus Three final-year student of political science and had appeared the semester examination on Tuesday.
The deceased’s father alleged that the girl was in a relationship with a youth for the past two years and ended her life after being blackmailed by her boyfriend with whom she had broken up six months back.
Kendrapara SP Siddharth Kataria and other senior police officers rushed to the village to investigate the case. No one has been arrested in connection with the case so far.
Citing the victim’s parents, police said, the couple had gone to the community health centre at Pattamundai at 7.30 am and returned around 11.30 am to find their daughter in a charred state.
Police said the body was found on the staircase of the house, probably indicating that the victim after setting herself on fire had made a desperate bid to go to the terrace but probably could not open the door.
The victim’s father alleged that six months back, he along with her daughter had gone to Pattamundai Rural police station to lodge an FIR but police did not take any step to register a case and advised them to block the youth’s mobile number.
2 platoons of police deployed for maintaining law and order
SP Kataria said the father’s allegations against non-registration of the case would also be investigated. Police pressed a scientific team to investigate the case. A case under sections 108 (abatement to suicide) and 351(2) (criminal intimation) under BNS was registered.
Police launched an investigation to ascertain the circumstances in which the incident took place. Prima facie, it appeared to be a case of self-immolation but investigation from all angles would be made. No suicide note was recovered at the spot.
Two platoons of police were deployed in the village to check any untoward incident.
The issue has snowballed into a major controversy with the BJD, Congress and Left party leaders demanding stern action against police for its slipshod attitude in the case.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)