Bhubaneswar- July 15- (OT Webdesk): The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), along with seven other opposition parties, has announced a statewide bandh on July 17 to protest the tragic death of Soumyashree, a B.Ed student from FM College, Balasore.
Allegedly harassed by a faculty member linked to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Soumyashree died after reportedly setting herself on fire—a grim act that has sparked outrage across the state.
OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das accused the government of shielding the accused and failing to respond to the victim’s pleas. “Everyone watched as she burned. No one intervened,” he said, calling for moral accountability. The bandh will see the closure of schools, colleges, shops, and markets as a mark of solidarity and protest.
On the eve of the bandh, candlelight vigils will be held across Odisha to honor Soumyashree and demand systemic reforms to protect students from harassment. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP-led administration, calling the incident an “organized murder” and connecting it to broader failures in states like Manipur.
The protest has reignited national discussions about institutional safety, political accountability, and the urgent need for gender-sensitive reforms in education systems.
