Student politics or silent persecution? Mystery deepens over Odisha college girl’s death

The tragic death of a girl student of Odisha’s FM College in Balasore district has sparked a storm of allegations linking it to campus politics, character assassination, and social media abuse. While the victim’s family demands justice, fresh revelations hint at a coordinated attempt to shield the accused.

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According to sources, the recent death of the female college student in Balasore has taken a darker turn, with allegations pointing to organised student politics, targeted character defamation, and administrative inaction. The family and close friends of the deceased claim that relentless harassment—both offline and online—forced the young woman to take the extreme step.

A close friend of the victim named Kashish Das claims that political student organisations—reportedly ABVP and NSUI—were actively involved in efforts to silence her, especially after she accused a faculty member of harassment. The girl’s friend insists that the toxic atmosphere of student politics and the subsequent social media campaign against the victim led her to a tragic end.

In an FIR lodged at Bhograi Police Station, the victim’s brother highlighted that even after her death, a targeted smear campaign continues on social media. He accused four people of launching defamatory content aimed at tarnishing her character. The complainant has demanded immediate action.

If no legal steps are taken, he warned, the family might resort to suicide out of sheer helplessness.

The complaint further alleges that the victim was being repeatedly harassed by a particular professor, but instead of receiving institutional support, a segment of students—allegedly influenced by the professor—rallied to defend him and vilify the victim.

OTV has accessed a letter submitted to the college principal on July 1, where 71 students claimed her allegations were false and had demanded her suspension, along with those who supported her.

What is even more concerning is that this group not only sought suspension of the victim and her supporters but also proposed a temporary ban on any political student organisation’s activities within the college during the ongoing probe.

While the group behind the letter remains unnamed, the BJP has accused the student wing of Congress of orchestrating the campaign.

BJP state spokesperson Biranchi Tripathy even claimed that there is social media evidence showing Congress-affiliated student leaders allegedly provoking the girl to commit suicide, screenshots of which have surfaced online.

As the political blame game intensifies, the bereaved family of the deceased girl continues to demand accountability and justice, asking why a harassment complaint turned into a full-blown political vendetta.

“Two leaders of the Chhatra Congress had conducted a signature campaign of around 200 students. A five-point application was submitted to the college principal alleging against the girl and demanding her suspension,” ABVP state coordinator, Biswajit Patra, said.

“Character of the girl was assassinated through the application claiming that she was ‘bad enough’ and the HoD (Sameer Sahoo) is a very ‘noble person’,” the ABVP leader added.

Reacting to this, Congress student wing vice-president Goutam Sahu stated, “The allegations are completely baseless. None of the student wing workers have put their signatures in the application. A member of the Chhatra Congress, against whom an FIR has been lodged, had posted on social media on July 1 and has not posted anything thereafter.”

“Why is the Congress student wing being blamed for this?” Sahu questioned.