Bhawanipatna(Swaraj Agrawal):Amid rising cases of atrocities against women in Odisha, the tragic death of Somyashree Bishi, a second-year student of Integrated B.Ed. at FM Autonomous College in Balasore, has sparked widespread outrage. The Kalahandi unit of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), including its youth and student wings, staged a massive protest today by blocking National Highway 26 near the Pipelinalla Bridge in Bhawanipatna for one hour.According to a written complaint submitted by the deceased to her college’s Internal Complaint Committee on July 1st, she had alleged continuous mental harassment and humiliation by her Head of Department and Assistant Professor Sameer Kumar Sahu. She accused him of threatening to fail her in exams, delay her academic progress by six years, and demanding inappropriate physical relations. When she refused, he allegedly began treating her more harshly. The victim had stated in her letter that she had become mentally distressed and attempted suicide due to this continued abuse.In her complaint, addressed to the Chief Minister, Education Minister, and the college Principal, she made it clear that if action was not taken and justice not delivered, she would be compelled to end her life. Despite her plea, no action was taken, and tragically, she died by suicide.In response, BJD leaders in Kalahandi took to the streets, condemning the state government’s inaction and failure to protect the dignity and life of an innocent student. Protesters demanded immediate justice and accountability from the authorities, calling for the resignation of the Chief Minister and the Education Minister.The protest saw the participation of several senior leaders and office bearers of the party, including : Former MLA Dushmant Nayak, Municipality Chairman Bishnu Pradhan,District Youth BJD President Aditya Nanda,State Executive Student BJD President Abhinash Thakur, State Youth BJD Vice President Montu Nayak, District Mahila BJD Leader Lalita Nayak, Zonal President Manindra Mohanty, Trilochan Panigrahi, Parmananda Majhi, BJD Town President Dhabaleswar Mahapatra,Former Municipal Chairperson Sanjukta Behera,Sabita Pradhan, Shiba Sahu, Amit Yadav,Manas Sindur, Pitabas Behera, Utpal Das, Samita Nayak,Sitaram Nayak,Jayshree Agrawal,Nilambar Nayak,Rajiv Lochan Satpathy,Ganesh Bag,Bholanath Nag, Sheikh Munabar,Ranjukta Pradhan, Samita Mahapatra,Khiresindhu Nayak, and many others.Police intervention brought the blockade to an end. However, the protestors declared they would continue their fight for justice and would not rest until strong action is taken against those responsible for Somyashree’s death.
