Odisha College Student Who Set Herself on Fire Over Sexual Harassment Succumbs to Injuries

PTI, BHUBANESWAR, JULY 15, 2025  :  The Odisha college student who set herself ablaze following alleged sexual richness by a professor died at AIIMS here. The hospital said this.

The second-year Integrated B.Ed. student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, died on Monday night after fighting for her life for three days. She took the extreme step on Saturday over alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 percent burns.

Expressing grief over the student's death, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said all culprits in the case will face the strictest punishment under the law.

The woman was first admitted to the Balasore district hospital and then shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment. She was undergoing treatment in the ICU, Department of Burn Centre, according to officials.

"The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated, and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 pm on July 14," the Department of Burn Centre said in a statement.

In a post on X, the CM said: "I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government's fulfillment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim's life could not be saved."

President Droupadi Murmu, who was at AIIMS Bhubaneswar to attend its 5th convocation ceremony, paid an unscheduled visit to the burn and plastic surgery department on Monday evening and enquired about the student's condition.

After conducting the post-mortem at AIIMS on Monday night, the body of the student was sent to her native village Palasia in Balasore district amid protest by members of opposition BJD and Congress at the hospital premises.

As soon as the hospital announced the death of the student, the BJD and Congress leaders and activists staged a protest inside the AIIMS campus late on Monday night. Police forcibly evicted the opposition members to clear the road for the movement of the vehicle carrying the body.