BHUBANESWAR: Balaram Bisi, father of the 20-year-old girl who was declared dead at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar on Monday, urged people not to politicise the tragedy.
The girl, a second year student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College had allegedly set herself on fire on the campus after the college failed to address her complaints of harassment against the assistant professor-cum-HoD of the Teacher Education department of the institution.
Amidst political mudslinging over the case, a grieving Bisi conducted the last rites of his daughter at Palasia village in Bhograi block of Balasore district on Tuesday.
Bisi said he has received all support from the State government so far but his fight for justice for his daughter will continue. “My daughter is no longer alive. My family members and I are emotionally drained out and my wife is not well. We do not know how and when we will be able to come out of this tragedy. I beg everyone not to use my daughter's name anymore for political gains," he said.
Bisi, however, said he has two demands from the government. Speaking to TNIE, he said all the members of the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the college should also be brought under the purview of police investigation.
"Despite my daughter complaining of harassment, both sexual and mental, at the hands of the accused assistant professor time and again, the ICC members wrote the inquiry report in his favour. The members asked my daughter to give proof of sexual harassment. How would she have proved it?," he asked.
He further demanded that campuses of all higher educational institutions in the State should be made safe for girl students. "We send our daughters to colleges to study but how safe are they on campuses," he questioned.
Stating that his daughter's suicide has brought to fore the loopholes in the education system as far as girls' safety is concerned, Bisi said the government should ensure that no incidents of sexual harassment on campuses go unreported.
"My daughter died fighting for justice so the entire country came to know about her. Who knows how many girls like her must have faced similar harassment but died without raising a voice out of fear," said Bisi, who works as a clerk in a college in Remuna.
He added that from President Droupadi Murmu to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, everyone had met him at AIIMS. "The President had said that she would pray for my daughter's well-being but destiny had different plans. Chief Minister Mohan Babu has assured me of an impartial probe and strictest punishment for everyone found guilty in the case," he said.
He expressed gratitude for the government and doctors' support towards his daughter’s treatment at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.
