"Institutional torture": CPI's D Raja condemns Balasore student death incident
Jul 16, 2025
New Delhi [India], July 16 : CPI General Secretary D Raja on Wednesday condemned the death incident of a student of Balasore Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, who self-immolated herself in protest over alleged sexual harassment by her teacher.
Raja called the incident "institutional torture" and "murder".
"Our party condemns what happened in Balasore and also is a part of the Odisha Bandh... All those who are involved should be held accountable, including the state government... What happened was an institutional torture and murder," D. Raja said.
Police on Wednesday used water cannon to disperse BJD workers protesting against the Odisha government after a 20-year-old girl self-immolated because of alleged sexual harassment by her teacher.
Police also detained the BJD workers who are protesting over the Balasore student's death.
Odisha's main opposition party, Biju Janata Dal, took to the streets today, calling for 'Balasore Bandh' in protest against the Odisha government after a 20-year-old girl self-immolated because of alleged sexual harassment by her teacher.
A BJD worker demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, and Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj.
The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college's Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College.
On Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha's Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation.
The Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said in a statement that the patient was brought to the casualty on July 12 and was referred from Balasore District Headquarters Hospital to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
On Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat's statement, D Raja said, "NCERT is an independent organisation and it should work out the syllabus and decide on textbooks on the basis of scientific temperament, which we agree to as per the secular democracy of the country. It should not come under any pressure from the state government or any other... It should stay neutral and work out on the basis of secularism and scientific temperament to be inculcated in the minds of young students.
Uttarakhand Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat on Wednesday said that the state government has asked the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to include the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana in the syllabus of 17,000 government schools.
