Bhubaneswar, July 15: In a heart-wrenching turn of events, the grieving father of a 20-year-old college student who succumbed to injuries after self-immolating has publicly accused the members of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) of her college of being "solely responsible" for her death.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the bereaved father claimed that the ICC mishandled the inquiry into a sexual harassment complaint filed by his daughter against a faculty member. He alleged that the committee’s report was "unfair, biased, and prejudiced," causing immense mental trauma to the young student, ultimately driving her to take the extreme step.

"My daughter reached out to the system for justice. Instead of being protected and heard, she was betrayed by the very mechanism meant to safeguard her," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

According to the father, the girl had formally lodged a complaint accusing a college professor of sexual harassment. However, the ICC, instead of taking her complaint seriously and conducting a transparent and impartial probe, allegedly shielded the accused and submitted a report that discredited her account.

The student, unable to bear the weight of the institutional apathy and humiliation, reportedly set herself on fire on the college campus on July 12. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she succumbed to her injuries after battling for life for several hours.

"This wasn’t just a suicide — it was a consequence of systemic failure and indifference," the father said, demanding an independent investigation into the actions of the ICC members and strong legal action against those responsible.

The tragic incident has sparked outrage among student groups, women's rights activists, and civil society, who have called for accountability and a complete overhaul of complaint redressal mechanisms in educational institutions across Odisha.

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