“He will be given a clean chit. You will face disciplinary action. So you better ‘compromise’.” That’s what the Principal of FM Autonomous College allegedly told 21-year-old Somyashri Bishi, a bright, outspoken undergraduate student who had dared to accuse her Head of Department of sexual harassment.
Last night, Somyashri died. Not by accident. Not by disease. But by self-immolation a final desperate act of protest against a system that betrayed her, branded her, broke her. Let there be no mistake: She did not die by suicide. She was pushed, humiliated, gaslit, and murdered not with a knife or a gun, but with silence, smear campaigns, and the cold machinery of institutional protectionism.
This is her story. And the blood is on many hands.
Somyashri Bishi, a student of the Department of Political Science, FM Autonomous College, Balasore, was known for her strong academic record and fierce activism. A vocal member of the student community, she wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power. That courage, tragically, became her undoing.
According to her complaint, Dr. Samir Sahu, her Head of Department, began demanding sexual favours in return for clearing her academic backlogs. She was stunned—but stood firm. She refused. In response, the machinery of retaliation was unleashed upon her.
Determined to fight back, Somyashri filed a formal complaint. Under legal obligation, the college constituted an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). But what should have been the beginning of justice became the start of her public harassment.
Instead of ensuring safety and confidentiality, the process became hostile and intimidating.
College insiders allege that:
- No interim relief or protection was offered to Somyashri.
- She faced repeated delays, veiled threats, and coercion during the investigation.
- The ICC showed open bias, pressuring her to “settle” the matter.
- The Principal allegedly warned her: “This will ruin your career. You’re fighting people more powerful than you.”
Even before the report was complete, college gossip had already labelled her unstable, manipulative, and political.
The harassment didn’t stop inside campus walls. Outside, a coordinated character assassination campaign was launched against her, led allegedly by members of the NSUI—the student wing of the Congress party.
Public posts began circulating:
- “She’s doing all this for sympathy marks.”
- “She’s always busy with politics. When does she even attend class?”
- “She’s using her links with the Education Minister to bully the system.”
One post by Ajay Kumar Panda, an NSUI affiliate, made the most vile accusation of all suggesting Somyashri was having an affair with the Education Minister for special treatment and personal security.
The posts went viral. Her reputation was shredded. Her friends began to drift away. Professors started treating her like a liability. Even classmates began whispering behind her back. She was isolated. Publicly humiliated. Gaslit into silence.
With the ICC investigation nearing completion, Somyashri clinging to a sliver of hope sought a meeting with the Principal again. But what she reportedly heard was the final dagger in the back. “He [Dr. Sahu] will be given a clean chit. You will face disciplinary action. So you better ‘compromise’.” The tone wasn’t advisory. It was coercive. A signal that justice would be denied—and if she didn’t fall in line, she’d be punished for speaking out.
College insiders now confirm:
- The ICC had been pressured to exonerate Dr. Sahu.
- Somyashri was facing disciplinary proceedings for “misconduct” and “defaming faculty.”
- Attempts were being made to expel her from the hostel.
In short: the predator was being protected, while the victim was being persecuted.
Photos soon emerged of Dr. Samir Sahu enjoying dinner with NSUI leaders. He seemed relaxed. Celebratory. As if justice had already been buried. Somyashri watched in horror as the very people she trusted with her safety administrators, professors, ICC members began standing behind her accused abuser.
On July 13, witnesses say she grew increasingly quiet. She stopped attending classes. Her phone was switched off. The few remaining friends she had say she “was done fighting.”
On July 14, 2025, at approximately 10:30 PM, in front of her locked hostel room, Somyashri poured kerosene over her body and set herself ablaze. She was rushed to AIIMS Bhubaneswar with over 85 per cent burns. At 11:40 PM, she was declared clinically dead.
Or was it all of us, for not listening until her voice became flames? In a searing statement, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), condemned the FM College administration, NSUI cadres, and state education authorities for complicity in her death.
Thread: How an innocent student was harassed, vilified, and ultimately pushed to death. A story of institutional failure, political bullying, and character assassination. #JusticeForSomyashri (1/10) pic.twitter.com/8Je5jF7ifQ
— ABVP (@ABVPVoice) July 15, 2025
“This is beyond politics. This is about a brutal miscarriage of justice. A girl spoke up against her predator and was punished for it. Her blood is on the hands of every administrator who turned away, every troll who mocked her, and every system that failed to protect her.”
The organisation has demanded:
- Immediate arrest of Dr. Samir Sahu
- Dismissal of the Principal
- Suspension of NSUI-linked students involved in the defamation
- Judicial inquiry into the ICC’s handling of the complaint
- Urgent UGC and NCW intervention
As of now, neither the Odisha Education Minister nor the Chief Minister has issued a statement. The silence is deafening. The optics worse. If a student must burn herself alive just to be heard, what does that say about our universities, our justice systems, and our society?
Somyashri Bishi is no longer alive. But her voice, her fight, and her brutal end must now become a national reckoning. No more silence. No more “compromises.” No more protection for predators wrapped in institutional legitimacy. This is not just Somyashri’s story. This is the story of every girl who has ever been told to stay quiet, to stay small, to “adjust.” We owe her justice. Or we owe her an apology that will burn through history.
