Press Trust of India | July 15, 2025 | 06:21 PM IST | 1 min read
The panel will look into the circumstances of the incident, examine whether regulatory norms were followed, and propose steps to avoid such cases in future, UGC secretary Sudeep Singh Jain said.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a four-member fact-finding panel to look into the incident of self-immolation by a girl student on college campus in Odisha's Balasore, officials said on Tuesday. The 20-year-old second-year BEd student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore had accused the Head of Education Department, Samira Kumar Sahu, of sexually harassing her.
The student set herself on fire on Saturday on the college campus over alleged inaction against the professor and suffered 95 per cent burns. She died at the AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Monday night after battling for life for about 60 hours. "A four-member panel has been formed to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, including availability and effectiveness of factors such as institutional policies, grievance redressal mechanism, anti-harassment measures adopted and student support systems," said UGC Secretary Sudeep Singh Jain.
"The panel will examine circumstances surrounding the incident, assess compliance with the stipulated regulatory provisions, and suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future," he added. The panel will be headed by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Professor and UGC member Raj Kumar Mittal. The members of the panel include former UGC member Sushma Yadav, former Gujarat University vice chancellor Neerja Gupta and UGC Joint Secretary Ashima Mangla.
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DIG of eastern range, Satyajit Naik said the STI team, comprising investigators, forensic experts and prosecutors, is collecting medical and digital evidence to build a strong case and ensure a swift, coordinated probe.
Press Trust of India