The Odisha Police on Monday arrested the principal of a government college in Balasore, where a student set herself on fire after alleging sexual harassment by a faculty member, The Indian Express reported.
Dilip Ghosh, the principal of Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide. This came a day after the state higher education department suspended him for alleged negligence.
The student had reportedly set herself on fire on campus on Saturday shortly after meeting Ghosh to follow up on her complaint against Samir Kumar Sahu, an assistant professor.
Sahu was arrested on Saturday and sent to judicial custody. He is facing charges of abetment to suicide, criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, stalking and outraging the modesty of a woman.
The 20-year-old undergraduate student is “extremely critical” with over 90% burn injuries, The Indian Express quoted doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Science in Bhubaneswar as saying.
She had accused Sahu of seeking “undue and inappropriate favours” and threatening to jeopardise her academic future if she refused. She also alleged that she was being stopped from attending classes.
The student had first submitted a written complaint to the Internal Complaints Committee of the college on June 30. She had also told the authorities that she was under extreme mental stress.
On July 1, she filed a police complaint, on which no action was reportedly taken.
Her father has alleged that the principal had pressured her to withdraw the complaint instead of taking disciplinary action, The Indian Express reported.
Balasore Superintendent of Police Raj Prasad on Sunday said that a special team has been formed to investigate the matter.
Responding to questions about the delay in taking action, Prasad said that the police had approached the Internal Complaints Committee after receiving the complaint.
The committee had said they would submit a report within five days, he claimed.
“When that did not happen, we asked again. We are now verifying the proceedings of the committee and their inquiry status,” Prasad said.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!