UGC Forms Fact-Finding Committee to Probe Balasore Student Suicide

UGC sets up a high-level committee to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and institutional lapses following the tragic self-immolation of a Fakir Mohan College student.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has appointed a three-member Fact-Finding Committee to look into the circumstances that led to the suicide of a female student at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore, Odisha.

Chairperson: Prof. Raj Kumar Mittal (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi)
Member: Prof. Sushma Yadav, Former Commission Member of UGC.
Member: Neeraj Gupta, VC, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad
Coordinating Officer: Dr. Ashima Mangla (UGC Joint Secretary)

The committee is tasked with:

Reviewing the college’s grievance redressal and anti-harassment policies
Examining compliance with UGC regulations on sexual harassment
Interviewing students, faculty, and administrative officials
Submitting a detailed report with recommendations within seven days

On July 11, 2025, the student allegedly set herself ablaze outside the principal’s office after her repeated complaints of sexual harassment by a senior faculty member went unaddressed. She later succumbed to 95% burn injuries at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Prior petitions to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), the college principal, and even social media tags to government authorities failed to trigger any action.

The case has ignited a nationwide debate on campus safety and institutional accountability:

Odisha police have arrested and suspended the accused professor and the college principal.
The state government, Congress, and the National Commission for Women (NCW) have launched separate inquiries.
President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi have expressed condolences and vowed strict action.