Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], July 13 : Odisha Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj on Sunday said that the state government will bear the entire cost of medical treatment of the Fakir Mohan (FM) Autonomous College student who attempted self-immolation in protest against alleged sexual harassment by an assistant professor.
Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, who visited AIIMS to meet with the victim, said that a high-level committee has been formed to investigate the incident. He assured that strict action would be taken based on the committee's findings.
"A high-level committee has been formed to investigate this incident. Today, the team has left Bhubaneswar for an investigation, and strict action will be taken based on the findings of that team. I went to AIIMS. I am going to AIIMS today also. We are closely looking at how the girl's health can be improved, and how she can recover. The government will bear the entire expense. And today, the Health Minister is also going with us. We will also talk to her parents today," he said.
Calling the incident "unfortunate", the minister said that the Head of the Department (HoD) and the Principal of FM Autonomous College in Balasore have been suspended, while the accused teacher has been arrested and is in police custody.
"This is a very unfortunate case, and we are dealing with it in a very sensitive manner. First of all, the head of the department and the principal have been suspended, and the accused has been taken into police custody," he added.
The Odisha Higher Education Department had on Saturday formed a committee to thoroughly investigate the harassment allegations against Samira Kumar Sahu, Assistant Professor at FM Autonomous College. This came after the self-immolation attempt by a female student of the institution.
The Balasore Police have arrested the accused and confirmed that prima facie evidence has been found linking him to the case. "In the case of a female student who attempted self-immolation, prima facie evidence has been established against a teacher. He has been arrested and forwarded to the court. This student had lodged a complaint with the Internal Compliance Committee on 30th June," Balasore SP Raj Prasad said.
"We are enquiring about the findings of their report. Whoever is found guilty, accountability will be fixed for them," he added.
The Higher Education Department on Saturday suspended both the Assistant Professor and the Principal of FM Autonomous College following the incident.