College student dies after self-immolation over 'blackmail by boyfriend' in Odisha
Last month, a female college student immolated herself on the campus after no action was taken over the harassment complaints she made against a professor.
A female college student died after she allegedly set herself on fire in Odisha's Kendrapara district on Wednesday because of blackmail by her boyfriend, police said.
This is the second case of self-immolation since July 12, and third case of women dying due to burn injuries in the state.
The incident took place in Kathiapada village in the Pattamundai (Rural) police station area on Wednesday morning, news agency PTI reported.
The father of the deceased, who was aged around 20, claimed that she poured an inflammable substance over herself and set herself on fire in their home when she was alone.
"She was in a relationship with a man and was being blackmailed by him," he was quoted as saying. He added that six months ago, his daughter filed a police complaint, but no action was taken.
The father claimed that the police asked his daughter "to block the man's mobile number if he was harassing her".
Kendrapara Superintendent of Police Siddarth Kataria reached the scene and said, "I have seen the body. Her father claimed that she died by suicide. The matter will be investigated."
Last month, two such incidents took place.
A 15-year-old was set on fire by three unidentified youths while she was on her way to a friend's home in Puri district. Police said the girl was going there to give a book to her friend.
As she was on her way, three unknown youths came on a motorcycle and made her unconscious by putting a handkerchief on her face. Then, they took her to a nearby riverbank and tried to kill her, pouring petrol over the girl and setting her on fire.
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She was rescued by a villager who put clothes on her and took her to Pipli CHC. Later, as her condition deteriorated, she was moved to AIIMS Bhubaneswar. AIIMS officials said the victim suffered approximately 70 per cent Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burns with maximum injuries on her lower torso. She succumbed to her injuries on August 2.
On July 12, the first incident took place. A 20-year-old student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balaosre immolated herself on campus to protest the inaction over her allegations of sexual harassment by a professor.
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Though she was undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar with 90 per cent burns, she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries.
Police arrested assistant professor Samir Kumar Sahu, who headed the education department at the Balasore college, hours after the girl student attempted suicide.
The girl, in her grievance, had alleged that Sahu had been asking her for "favours" and threatened to destroy her academic career if she did not oblige. Though the internal complaints committee assured her that action would be taken in seven days, nothing happened. She also filed a complaint with the local police.
The college principal was also suspended by the higher education department over his failure to take action in the case.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. A few major suicide prevention helpline numbers in India are 011-23389090 from Sumaitri (Delhi-based) and 044-24640050 from Sneha Foundation (Chennai-based).
