Bhubaneswar, Aug 10: A case has been registered against the male friend of the college girl in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, who allegedly took her own life by self-immolation after her repeated pleas for justice went unheard, on the basis of an FIR lodged by the victim’s father.
The girl’s male friend, identified as Pramod Behera from Teroi village in Kendrapara, has been booked under Sections 296, 75, 78, and 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66-E and 67-A of the Information Technology Act. He was detained by police in Chennai yesterday for questioning in connection with the case.
Earlier, police questioned the victim’s father and brother at Pattamudai rural police station in Kendrapara as part of their intensified investigation.
The victim, a 20-year-old Plus 3 final year student of Pattamundai College, died after reportedly setting herself on fire after pouring kerosene in her house at Badapada village on August 6.
Shortly after the girl’s death, her father alleged that she had been under intense mental stress due to ongoing blackmail by her male friend.
He also claimed that she had approached Pattamundai Rural Police Station six months ago to file a complaint about the harassment.
However, the police allegedly failed to register a case based on her complaint. Instead, a police official reportedly advised the college girl to block her male friend’s phone number to avoid further harassment.
