BHUBANESWAR: Even as investigation into the FM Autonomous College incident is underway, Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra on Sunday clarified that the victim had not lodged any police complaint against her head of the department (HoD) alleging harassment.
The victim, a second-year BEd student of the college, had set herself on fire on July 12 outside college principal Dillip Ghosh’s chamber alleging her HoD Samira Kumar Sahoo was harassing her for not complying with his demand for ‘favour’.
Addressing mediapersons during his visit to Balasore on the day to take stock of the investigation, he said the victim had not lodged any police complaint in this regard. “The girl had not visited the police station to lodge a complaint against the HoD,” he clarified.
When pointed out that the victim had flagged the issue by posting a message on X, tagging the SP and the state/central ministers, the CB DG said investigation was underway to ascertain if there was any negligence on part of any authority and accordingly, they will submit a separate report to the state government.
The agency will also probe whether the girl had purchased petrol from a fuel station or if anyone had provided it to her. It is a very sensitive case and the state government has taken it very seriously, Mishra said.
“It is a very complicated case and our responsibility is to identify all those responsible for the incident. The girl had lodged a complaint against the HoD on June 30 but the college’s internal complaints committee (ICC) did not find anything against him, following which she took the drastic step,” the Crime Branch DG said.
He further added that as part of the investigation, CB will examine the opinions of the ICC members who inquired into the allegations against the HoD as well as the statements of the persons who appeared before the committee. “It will also record the statements of the victim’s family members, friends, hostel roommates, students and teachers of the college to get to the bottom of the truth,” Mishra said.
He informed that various physical and digital evidences were collected from the spot where the incident occurred. “CCTV footage has been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) for examination. A CAW&CW team is stationed in Balasore to carry out proper investigation and provide justice to the victim,” Mishra said.