Odisha student's self-immolation case: Youths should refrain from taking any step hastily, says FM University VC

In his response to the recent suicide attempt by a girl student of FM Autonomous College in Balasore, the Vice-Chancellor of Fakir Mohan University, Prof Santosh Kumar Tripathy, described it as 'unfortunate, tragic and not acceptable'.

Reacting to the incident, Tripathy welcomed the prompt action initiated by the Higher Education Department, calling it a step in the right direction. He also appealed to all students to refrain from engaging in violent or extreme actions and to seek peaceful and constructive means of addressing their concerns.

"The incident is not only unfortunate but also tragic. It is not acceptable at all. Considering the incident that happened with the girl, and the mental state of her parents, it is a very unfortunate incident. As per the UGC guidelines, there should be an internal complaints committee in every educational institution," said Tripathy.

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"As per my knowledge, the chairman of the internal complaints committee is a psychology lecturer. The student could have been sent to him at least for counselling. When the complaint was made to the internal complaints committee, there should have been a mandate to submit a report within 48 or 72 hours. There is a norm that the internal complaints committee should submit the report within 30 days. However, in sensitive cases, the report should not be submitted after such a long duration. I came to know that the internal complaints committee submitted the report on July 9. It's wrong if action has not been taken on the basis of the report. As per the recommendation of the internal complaints committee, Sameer Sahoo should have been suspended on the same day or the following day. The complacency due to any reason is not acceptable," he further said.

"I would like to request the youths to refrain from taking any steps hastily. Right kind of decision could not be taken hastily. If somebody is not getting justice, it doesn't mean that one should punish her. Youths should have patience and they should take decisions in a peaceful manner," he added.