Balasore: A fact-finding team of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Friday went to the college in Odisha’s Balasore to probe into the circumstances that led a student to set herself afire on the campus.
The UGC is one of the agencies that have been probing into the case.
The Odisha Higher Education Department’s committee, investigating the incident, also met the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) members of the college, who had been accused by the deceased’s father of being biased against his daughter.
The Crime Branch of the police, which is probing into the case, visited the student’s family and collected CCTV footage from a petrol pump to ascertain if the student had collected fuel she used to immolate herself from there, an officer said.
The second-year B.Ed student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore had set herself on fire on the college campus July 12 over inaction against a professor who allegedly sexually harassed her. She suffered 95 per cent burns and died at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar on the night of July 14.
A four-member UGC fact-finding team under the chairmanship of Prof Raj Kumar Mittal met the college in-charge principal Firoz Kumar Padi.
They will also meet other stakeholders, including members of the ICC and students of the Integrated BEd department, an official said.
“This is a very sensitive case. We need to understand everything and do our job objectively,” Mittal told reporters after reaching the college.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Higher Education department’s three member high level committee, headed by Kaliprasanna Mohapatra, met the members of ICC committee.
“Had the ICC given a proper report, my daughter would have been alive today,” her father had said.
However, Jayashree Mishra, the coordinator of the ICC, claimed that their report July 9 had suggested removal of accused HoD of integrated BEd department Samira Kumar Sahoo from his post.
However, the reason for seeking his removal was his “strict approach”, and no evidence was found that Sahoo sexually harassed any student.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Crime Branch’s Crime Against Women and Children Wing (CAW&CW), which has started its probe into the case since Thursday, visited the deceased’s village.
CB IG, S Shyni and DSP Iman Kalyan Nayak went to the house of the student and met her parents and brother.
“We will handle the case with utmost fairness and professionalism. At this stage, we prefer not to disclose details of the investigation,” Shyni told reporters at Balasore.
The CB’s investigating team visited a petrol outlet near the FM College in Balasore and collected CCTV footage from there.
“The crime branch has taken CCTV footage for three days since July 11 on a pen drive,” the petrol pump owner said.
The CCTV footage could help ascertain whether the victim herself collected petrol or someone else.
The CB team had visited SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and recorded a statement of Jyotiprakash Biswal, a key eyewitness currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Jyotiprakash suffered 15 per cent burn injuries while attempting to rescue the student.
In a related development, a close friend of the deceased claimed that the accused professor had mobilised the support of nearly 300 students, and only 15 or 20 backed her.
“She was feeling isolated in the fight against the HoD as her department batchmates supported the accused and not her,” the friend claimed.
The victim’s roommate, Srabani Das, also a student of the FM College told television channels that she had no plans to set herself on fire.
PTI
