FM College student’s death: Congress calls ‘Odisha Bandh’ on July 17; demands total shutdown

A broad coalition of opposition parties in Odisha, led by the Congress and several other parties, has called for a statewide bandh on July 17 in protest against the death of a student of Balasore Fakir Mohan Autonomous College.

The victim succumbed to burn injuries late last night despite a 60-hour treatment effort at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. The girl had taken an extreme step of self-immolating herself on July 12, after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by a senior faculty member.

Odisha Congress termed the girl’s death a ‘complete failure’ of the government and alleged that its inaction led to the tragedy.

The Odisha Bandh announcement was made this morning during a joint press conference by eight political parties, including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), and NCP. They demanded justice for the deceased student and called for a complete shutdown of schools, colleges, shops, and markets across the state on Wednesday.

Tragedy Sparks Coordinated Political Response

Speaking at the briefing, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das said the bandh is not merely a political response but a moral obligation in the face of what he called a systemic failure to protect students and respond to grave harassment complaints.

“There is no institutional discipline or guideline. They reportedly issued an institutional guideline yesterday after all of this happened. This shows the government’s incapability and incapacity,” said Das.

He also appealed to all transport workers, colleges, and schools to cooperate with the opposition for the Odisha Bandh and stay shut for the day on July 17. “The time has come for the citizens to open their eyes as the government has closed its own. We will observe a peaceful protest on July 17, but the public’s support is required,” Das added.

Government Action So Far

In the events after the girls’ self-immolation bid, the Higher Education Department suspended and subsequently arrested Principal Dillip Ghosh. The accused HOD of Education, Sameer Ranjan Sahoo, was nabbed into police custody on July 12.

The state government has also formed a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the full scope of the incident, including the role of college authorities and the internal complaints mechanism.