Balasore: In a significant development in the Odisha student self-immolation case, the joint secretary of the state unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Subhra Sambit Nayak, and another individual, Jyotiprakash Biswal, were arrested on Sunday, August 3. The arrests are linked to the tragic case involving a 20-year-old female student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore district.
According to police, Sambit Nayak, a B.Sc. Physics student and a member of ABVP's Balasore unit, along with Biswal, was taken into custody and produced before the court. Both have been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. Authorities claim to have strong evidence implicating the duo in the case.
With these arrests, the total number of accused taken into custody has risen to four. Earlier, the college's Head of the Department of Education, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal Dilip Ghose were arrested in connection with the incident.
The case came to national attention after disturbing visuals of the student setting herself on fire on the college campus emerged on social media on July 12, sparking widespread outrage. She was reportedly under severe mental stress, following inaction on multiple complaints she had filed against a professor alleging sexual harassment.
The victim, a second-year student of the Integrated B.Ed. programme, was rushed to AIIMS Delhi with 90 percent burn injuries. Despite all efforts, she succumbed to her injuries two days later.