Odisha student sets self ablaze over ‘harassment’: UGC sets up 4-member panel; team will be led by GGIPU’s professor | India News

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has established a four-person fact-finding committee to investigate the self-immolation incident of a female student at a college in Balasore, Odisha, officials announced on Tuesday.The victim, a 20-year-old second-year B.Ed student at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, set herself ablaze on July 12 outside the college gate during a peaceful protest that had been ongoing since July 1, demanding action against the head of the education department.She had earlier submitted multiple complaints against Samira Kumar Sahu, who heads the Education Department accusing the faculty member of sexual harassment and threats to manipulate her academic scores.After fighting for survival for approximately 60 hours at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, she passed away on Monday night.UGC Secretary Sudeep Singh Jain stated, “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.”He further explained that the committee would assess compliance with regulatory provisions and recommend preventive measures for such incidents.The investigation team will be led by Professor Raj Kumar Mittal from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, who is also a UGC member. Other committee members include former UGC member Sushma Yadav, former Gujarat University vice chancellor Neerja Gupta, and UGC Joint Secretary Ashima Mangla.