'Next 24 Hours Crucial': Odisha CM Visits Balasore Student Battling For Life; Oppn Slams Governance 'Rot'
Odisha CM Majhi visited a Fakir Mohan University student at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, who suffered 95% burns. He discussed treatment with doctors, planning a virtual meeting with Delhi AIIMS for enhanced care.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Deputy CM Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo called on the Fakir Mohan University student at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Sunday, meeting her and her parents as she fights for survival with burns covering nearly 95 per cent of her body. The 20-year-old student remains on a ventilator in the intensive-care unit at AIIMS Bhubaneswar after an attempted suicide over alleged sexual harassment by a head of department at her university.
He discussed with his staff for holding a meeting with the doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi regarding the future course of treatment for the student.
"The student is receiving treatment at Bhubaneswar AIIMS. Her condition is very critical, and a medical team has been assembled to provide her care. She is being treated according to the protocols of Delhi AIIMS. Today, I discussed with the team how to hold a virtual meeting with doctors at Delhi AIIMS. The meeting will focus on enhancing treatment and exploring possibilities for further improvement," CM Majhi told media persons, as quoted by news agency ANI.
He said the government was taking the incident "very seriously" and informed that they have instructed the medical team to issue two bulletins daily. After the inquiry team's report is submitted, additional measures will be implemented on besides the existing ones.
"The next 24 hours will be crucial for the patient. If necessary, we can also airlift her. The inquiry team has begun its investigation. Whatever report is produced, the government is taking it very seriously. We have also instructed the medical team to issue two bulletins daily. We have taken action, and upon receiving the next report, we will implement additional measures," the Odisha Chief Minister remarked.
The victim’s father told reporters, “The Chief Minister said that a medical team will be formed here, which will hold a virtual meeting with Delhi AIIMS and make arrangements for my daughter’s treatment.”
#WATCH | Balasore student self-immolation case | The father of the victim says, "The Chief Minister said that a medical team will be formed here, which will hold a virtual meeting with Delhi AIIMS and make arrangements for my daughter's treatment." https://t.co/WkTXHAwao9 pic.twitter.com/q2N0CpErt4
— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2025
AIIMS Bhubaneswar Director Dr Ashutosh Biswas confirmed that the undergraduate is on a ventilator in the intensive-care unit. “Yesterday, we received the patient in critical condition. … We are providing the best possible care to the patient. A committee has been formed to look after various aspects, multi-disciplinary critical care…,” he informed ANI.
Odisha Professor's Arrest And State-Level Inquiry Into Harassment Allegation
Balasore Police have arrested Assistant Professor Samira Kumar Sahu, the Head of Department whom the student accused of repeatedly demanding sexual favours and threatening her future. Odisha Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said a “high-level committee” has begun an investigation. “The government will bear the entire expense,” he added, stressing that strict action will follow the panel’s findings.
Congress Slams Odisha Govt Over “Institutional Apathy”
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has accused Odisha’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–led coalition of “institutional apathy” after a third-year student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, set herself ablaze on 12 July. Khera wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “It is a national tragedy that a young woman in Odisha was forced to set herself on fire after facing relentless sexual harassment by her college HoD… Yet, her complaints went unheard.”
He added that the Head of Department (HoD), the Principal and the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) “must also be held accountable – not merely for negligence, but for abetment.”
Local BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi told reporters that the victim and her classmates had approached him before the incident. Sarangi said he telephoned the college Principal and the Balasore Superintendent of Police but “there was no response.”
Khera drew attention to the exchange, noting in another post: “A BJP MP had demanded the HoD’s suspension but even he was brushed aside – by the college Principal.”
Khera further underscored that the student is an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) office-bearer: “If this is the fate of their own, what can ordinary women – with no access to networks of power – possibly expect?”
BJD Alleges Odisha Government Inaction on Women’s Safety
Joining the chorus, Lekha Samantsinghar, Senior General Secretary of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), lashed out at the BJP administration.
Speaking to ANI, she said: “A third-year student from Fakir Mohan University was a victim of sexual abuse… After ten days, the college forced her to withdraw her complaint and compromise with the teacher. Because of this, she tried to commit suicide, and 95 per cent of her body was burnt.”
Samantsinghar claimed the state records “15 rapes per day” and charged the government with “doing nothing” to protect women.
Khera has demanded the immediate arrest of the HoD, disciplinary proceedings against the Principal and members of the ICC, and a wider investigation into the college’s handling of sexual-harassment complaints. Samantsinghar echoed the plea, insisting that “strict punishment” is necessary to restore faith in campus safety mechanisms.
TMC Trains Guns On BJP Over “Rot” In Governance
The Trinamool Congress seized on the incident to censure the Bharatiya Janata Party–led state government. “Different day, different victim — same rot under BJP’s watch… She is battling with 95% burns,” the party posted on its official X handle, also noting injuries to another student who tried to help. It added, “The silence of Mohan Charan Manjhi is disgraceful, and the absence of any condemnation from PM Modi only reaffirms what we already know: ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is a FARCE.”
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