Charge sheet filed in FM student immolation case

Balasore: The Crime Branch of Odisha Police filed a charge sheet against the accused persons over the death by self-immolation of a 20-year-old female student of Balasore’s FM (Autonomous) College. The State police’s Crime Against Women and Children Wing (CAWCW) investigating officer Iman Kalyani Nayak submitted a 504-page charge sheet, containing statements of 120 witnesses, at the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Balasore on Tuesday, a senior official said.

The police have collected important clues, including digital evidence, from various gadgets.

“In view of the collection of further evidence and the involvement of multiple persons, the police have kept the case open,” the official said.The female student of the Integrated B.Ed course on July 12 resorted to self-immolation, demanding justice over alleged sexual harassment by the head of the department. She died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on July 14, sparking nationwide outrage. The police arrested Assistant Professor Samir Kumar Sahoo on July 12 and the then Principal, Dillip Ghose, on July 14, both on the charge of abetment of suicide.