BHUBANESWAR: “They (college authorities) will not let me exist peacefully in the college.” This was what Soumyashree Bisi had told her father Balaram two days before she set herself afire.
Concerned for her safety, he wanted her to return home (90 km away at Bhograi), but she decided to stay back in Balasore, awaiting justice which never came her way.
A second year student of Integrated BEd at Fakir Mohan College, Soumyashree is now battling for her life after suffering 95 per cent burns in her self-immolation bid on Saturday. Her ordeal of sexual and mental harassment at the hands of an assistant professor of the college Samira Kumar Sahoo started six months back. Bisi knocked every possible door - from the college principal to faculty members, the Higher Education department to local MP Pratap Sarangi - seeking help, till she took the drastic step.
The girl had on June 25 opened an X account and tweeted about her ordeal to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Higher Education minister Suryabanshi Suraj, Balasore administration, MP Pratap Sarangi, local MLA Manas Kumar Dutta, Balasore SP Raj Prasad, Education Ministry and NCW. However, the tweet went unnoticed.
On Saturday, Soumyashree went to the principal Dilip Ghosh’s chamber seeking action against Sahoo. “I informed her that the allegation against Sahu has not been established by the internal complaints committee (ICC). Since Sahoo had also accused the girl of lying, I called him to my chamber in presence of Soumyashree and offered them a mediation. However, she was not in a good frame of mind and stormed out. A few minutes later, we heard an explosion and were told that the girl had set herself afire,” said Ghosh, who has been suspended after the incident. Police believe the girl was carrying petrol in her bag which she used for self-immolation.
Soumyashree is a designated trainer for self-defence training of the college girls and also a regular at co-curricular activities. She is a member of ABVP and stayed in Balasore.
Balasore sub-collector Madhusmita Samantray and SP Raj Prasad who conducted a preliminary inquiry after the incident pointed out serious lapses in handling of the case by the college authorities.
Sub-collector Samantray said the ICC submitted its report on July 10 which cleared Sahoo of the allegations. “Since the ICC had been formed immediately, we felt that the members were not aware of the investigation process and the report seemed ambiguous. There are 400 students in the Teacher Education department and the ICC randomly selected 60 students from the three BEd batches for questioning about the conduct of the teacher and the victim. The lapse on the part of the principal was that the accused was working in the campus even while the ICC inquiry was on. Since there was no counselling of the victim, she may have felt that her complaint had no value and everyone was favouring the accused,” she said.
Balasore SP Prasad said the girl had not filed any police complaint as she wanted to take up the matter with the ICC first. “On June 30, the college principal had assured us to finish the inquiry within five days and submit a report to the police. But that never happened. The principal also did not inform the Higher Education department about the complaint,” he said.
(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.)