Palasi mourns, seeks justice for its daughter
The victim had visited her home on July 5, on the occasion of Bahuda Yatra. Her aunt, Sashmita, recalled that she seemed stressed during the visit. 'She took some photos of her cousins and they asked her to come again later so they could go out together,' she said.
Her cousins said that she left early on July 6 for the college. 'That was the last time we saw her,' they said.
Neighbours recall her as a bright and a well-behaved student. She was one of the top scorers when she studied at the Rural Institute of Higher Studies in Bhograi. 'We never expected her to take such a drastic step,' a local resident shared.
The villagers of Palasi echoed the family's demand for justice, insisting that mere arrests were not enough. 'We urge the government and judiciary to ensure the harshest punishment for the accused,' they said.
The victim, a second-year BEd student of the college, was allegedly harassed by head of department Samira Sahu for several months. However, alleging inaction by the college authorities, she had set herself ablaze on the college premises on Saturday and suffered 95 per cent burn injuries. She succumbed while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Monday night.
Her uncle, Ramkrushna, demanded strict action against the assistant professor and the now-suspended principal of the college, Dillip Ghosh. 'Both of them are responsible for my niece's death. We want life imprisonment for Ghosh and a death sentence for Sahu. Only then will it send a strong message across the country to prevent such abuse by teachers,' he said.
Meanwhile, thousands gathered to bid farewell to the victim, including Balasore MP Pratap Sarangi, Bhogarai MLA Gautambuddha Das, and Balasore Sadar MLA Manas Dutta. Her body was handed over to the family after a postmortem and transported to Palasi in a hearse under police escort.
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