'How Could She Prove What The Professor Said?' Balasore Victim's Family Awaits Answers, Justice

Last Updated:July 17, 2025, 15:09 IST

The victim’s father said he wanted his daughter to quit college after she lodged her complaint, but the principal told him she would get justice

Congress members stage a demonstration against the BJP-led government over the death of a college student in Odisha's Balasore. (PTI)

Amid the headlines from Odisha’s Balasore, a quiet village 90 kilometres away is mourning a loss too deep for words. In this small, grieving home, a family clings to memories of their beloved 20-year-old daughter—their laadli, their pride, and their support.

It was on July 14 that the B.Ed student of Balasore’s Fakir Mohan Autonomous College breathed her last after setting herself on fire over the alleged harassment by her HoD and assistant professor Samir Kumar Sahu as well as her institution’s apathy towards her complaint.

Her sudden absence has left a silence that no words can fill but is only broken by the quiet sobs of a mother who still waits to hear her voice one more time.

Speaking to News18, the victim’s mother said: “We were all dependent on her. She was our support system. When I spoke to her last, she told me she wasn’t feeling well but I never thought she wouldn’t come back."

The family had countless dreams for the young woman. Her brother, who fought alongside her till the end, had even gone to meet the principal with her on June 30. Now, as he tries to hold the family together, he himself struggles to speak.

For her father, she was “Ma". As he spoke to News18, he questioned why no one came to her aid when she set herself ablaze. “I thought my ‘Ma’ would live for a hundred years. The entire Internal Complaints Committee harassed me and my daughter. Why was there no guard outside the principal’s office that day? Why didn’t anyone stop my daughter from setting herself on fire? The mess owner told me she would cry every night in the hostel mess. I brought her home. I even took her for counselling.

“She told me so many times that the teacher was harassing her. I wanted her to quit the college after she lodged her complaint, but the principal told me she would get justice."

He added: “They accused my daughter of doing politics in college. How can they say that about her? She said she wanted to file an FIR. I told her, ‘Don’t do that, daughter. Teachers are like guardians.’ But is this what teachers should do? She was a master trainer in self-defence, but she could not defend herself from this harassment. She was brave. She was a fighter."

The bereaved father said the Internal Complaints Committee members and students who harassed his daughter should be arrested and given exemplary punishment.

“I called Samir Sir [accused] many times earlier to ask why she was so upset, but he never took my calls. He always behaved differently. I also came to know that the principal asked her to apologise to the professor and also to the media. Others were mocking her, asking what her complaint would achieve."

He said the committee called him several times to depose before them, sometimes twice a day. “I had to travel 90 kilometres each time. I told her not to file an FIR, but no one did anything for her. How could she prove what the professor said? Would she video record such things?"

Accusing the college of colluding to save the accused, the man said the professors psychologically harassed him and his daughter. “Professors Jayashree Mishra, Gopa Mudra… I didn’t even know they were interrogating my daughter. They made me come twice in one day. After travelling 90km and reaching home, they called me back the same day. When I reached, no one was even there to take my statement in writing. I was never given a copy of my statement."

He added: “They used other students to harass her too. I don’t know about social media, but they assassinated my daughter’s character. Some students came and told me later that they were responsible for my daughter’s death because they had signed the complaint against her."

News18 had reported on Thursday that the victim’s friend shared the formed had approached her principal several times to share her ordeal but did not get a favourable response.

The victim’s friend also said she was trolled by juniors, who called her a “bad girl" on social media and campus and assassinated her character.

Kamalika Sengupta

Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar...Read More

Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar...

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Location :

Odisha (Orissa), India, India

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