New Delhi: In a powerful appeal to the Parliament, Congress MP from Koraput, Saptagiri Ulaka, today moved an Adjournment Motion in the Lok Sabha over the shocking death of a student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, Odisha. The young woman, who allegedly attempted self-immolation following repeated harassment, died from severe burn injuries while undergoing treatment at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
Terming the incident as deeply distressing, Ulaka criticized the systemic negligence and institutional failure that led to this tragedy. He stated that despite the victim repeatedly reaching out to the college administration with verbal and written complaints about harassment by certain faculty and peers, no meaningful action was taken to address her grievances.
Ulaka emphasized that this case has sparked outrage across Odisha and the country, exposing a deeper crisis in campus safety, lack of grievance redressal systems, and overall failure of educational institutions to uphold their duty of care.
Calling for urgent parliamentary intervention, the MP urged the House to prioritize this matter and hold those accountable who failed in their responsibilities. He laid out a set of concrete measures to prevent such tragedies in the future. These included a time-bound investigation supervised by independent authorities, immediate suspension of negligent officials, and mandatory Internal Complaints Committees across all campuses.
He further proposed strict enforcement of the POSH Act, installation of surveillance systems on campuses, establishment of a 24×7 confidential digital complaint system with tracking, and creation of a rapid-response protocol with a 72-hour protection window for victims. He also called for trauma counselling services, legal protection for the victim’s family and witnesses, and a fast-track judicial process to ensure timely justice.
The motion reflects growing public pressure on both state and central governments to fix the systemic failures that continue to endanger the lives and dignity of students across India’s campuses.
