Balasore (Odisha) [India], July 13 (ANI): BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi has alleged that authorities of the college in his constituency of Balasore in Odisha had ignored the harassment complaint of the B.Ed student who attempted self-immolation.
“This matter has been going on for many days. Initially, the Police had been assured by the college that they would complete the enquiry committee’s report in five days,” Sarangi told ANI on Saturday.
The BJP MP informed that he was told about the matter by the woman and her friends, following which he spoke to the college principal and the Superintendent of Police of Balasore.
Sarangi said that the woman had attempted suicide before as well, and when he heard the news, the BJP MP said he called the college principal, but there was no response.
The BJP MP further said that he looked at the inquiry report, which had many errors and didn’t match with the statement of the victim.
“A few days ago, the girl and her friends informed me about the incident. So I spoke to the Principal and the SP. The Principal said that the enquiry committee is investigating the matter, and within five days, they will solve it. The girl had told me that she had attempted suicide once before because of this… Today, when I heard the news, I called the Principal many times, but he never picked up… When I looked at the committee’s enquiry, I saw many errors… I told them that your enquiry is completely biased. Their report does not match with the student’s statement at all,” Sarangi said.
Opposition parties in the State have alleged an increase in crime against women under BJP’s one-year rule.
Congress Spokesperson Rajani Mohanty termed the incident as “heart-wrenching”, saying that the woman attempted this step after she was denied justice.
“It is a very serious and very heart-wrenching incident. I’m very shocked that the crime against women is increasing at an alarming rate in the state. Yesterday Rahul ji had been to Odisha and said that every day 15 women are facing serious crimes. Crimes against women are not taken into notice by the present government.”
“A girl student of University has self-immolated because of continuous harassment by one of the calls. Teacher she had approached informed the principal about this incident. Neither the principal nor there was any departmental inquiry about this incident. Justice has not been given to her. She had nothing. She had no expectation of either the principal or any quarter after she had been harassed for a prolonged period. She decided to sacrifice her own life. She decided to finish hers because she didn’t get justice from any quarter. This is a warning to the state government. Every day, everywhere, not a single district where the women are not being harassed,” the Congress leader said.
BJD leader Lenin Mohanty also attacked the ruling BJP government, saying, “For the last few days it has been a living hell for women in Odisha. Ten days ago within a gap of 10 days only, two gruesome gang rapes at Gopalpur. Just after that at Rayagada, two lovers were made to plough, and today a student at FM College. She’s being punished for no fault of hers.”
“She was targeted by a teacher. She was abused and when she complained about it before the principal, the principal took it lightly. She went to the internal complaint committee. She filed a complaint on the first of this month. It is already the 12th today. After 12 long days, nothing happened. At the end of the day, the lady committed suicide today. That has hurt every people, every person who is hearing it. Everyone is touched by the move that the lady has taken. Where are we proceeding to? Where are we going to? A girl who has come for justice, she meets her principal. The principal takes it lightly. The internal committee takes 12 days to kind of come down to a conclusion, and the lady, with 90 per cent burns, sits there.
On Saturday, the BJD leader Lenin Mohanty said they held a press conference.
“We had a press conference to address this issue because Odisha is at a stage where there is chaos. 15 rapes every day. This is a new record which is being set,” Lenin Mohanty said.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Government have formed a committee to conduct a thorough inquiry into the alleged harassment case against Samira Kumar Sahu, an Assistant Professor of the FM Autonomous College, followed by the suicide attempt by a woman student of the college on July 12.
The Higher Education Department, Odisha Government, has suspended Dillip Kumar Ghose, Assistant Professor and Principal of the College.
Balasore Superintendent of Police Raj Prasad said, “In the case of a female student who attempted self-immolation, prima facie evidence has been established against a teacher. He has been arrested and forwarded to the court. This student had lodged a complaint with the Internal Compliance Committee on 30th June. We are enquiring about the findings of their report… Whoever is found guilty, accountability will be fixed for them.” (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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