Odisha: Another Girl Sets Herself On Fire In Bargarh District, Dies

Odisha Girl Set Herself On Fire: Police said on Monday that the incident took place at Phiringmal village, which falls within the Gaisilat police station.

Odisha Girl Set On Fire: In yet another tragic incident, a minor girl allegedly set herself on fire in Odisha's Bargarh district and later succumbed to ther injuries. This is the fourth such incident within a month, hinting at a troubling trend in the state.

Police said on Monday that the incident took place at Phiringmal village, which falls within the Gaisilat police station. According to a PTI report, the 13-year-old girl was rescued by villagers from a playground. The girl was found in a half-burnt condition and was rushed to the Bargarh district hospital. The victim succumbed to the burn injuries while undergoing treatment at the medical college in the afternoon, informed Abilash G., the In-charge Superintendent of Police, Bargarh district.

He said, “The victim is a minor.. Her family members filed a report claiming that she had set herself on fire. Based on their report, we have registered an Unnatural Death case in this regard, while the inquest and post-mortem of the body are going on. We have been investigating the reasons behind the death. The video containing her statement after the incident has also been seized by police,” said Abilash.

Notably, the victim, while being taken to the hospital after rescue, allegedly told villagers that she had taken the extreme step due to one of her girlfriends. However, she didn’t mention the name of the girl.

Past Instances

Earlier on July 19, tragedy struck in Odisha’s Puri district when a 15-year-old girl suffered severe burn injuries, covering more than 75% of her body. She was rushed to AIIMS in New Delhi, but despite two weeks of treatment, she passed away on August 2. Initially, reports suggested that three unidentified men had waylaid her and set her on fire, sparking nationwide outrage. The case took an unexpected turn when police later said no one else was involved. The Odisha Crime Branch is now handling the investigation, which comes just days after another shocking incident — a college student’s self-immolation at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore.

Before that, a 20-year-old girl student set herself on fire on her college campus on July 12. The girl alleged that she was harassed by her professor and her repeated complaints were ignored. The girl died on July 14. The girl was doing a Bachelor's in Education at the Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore district. She set herself on fire outside the principal’s office, alleging inaction over her repeated complaints about sexual harassment by a college teacher.

Opposition Slams BJP

The Congress party has slammed the Odisha BJP government saying that the state had become entirely unsafe for women with an average of 15 rapes taking place every day. The party said that the Odisha government had itself admitted that 28,000 incidents of crime against women and children had been reported during the last eleven months. The BJD has also questioned the BJP government over rise in crime against women in the past few months.

BJD leader Lekhasri Samantsinghar said, "Odisha is trying to achieve the status of the crime capital of the country and the capital of atrocities towards women. The rate at which girls are being killed, raped, and murdered is alarming. Today, an incident has come to light where a 13-year-old girl from Bargarh has been burnt and is now struggling for her life...These cases are increasing because the government is not taking any action against the perpetrators. The police inaction has led to strengthening the mindset of the criminals."

Odisha Government's Action

Amid rising crime against women, the Odisha government has announced a new initiative, Shaktisree, aimed at ensuring the safety of girl students in colleges and universities across the state. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi made the announcement in Bhubaneswar last month. The programme will cover all 16 state universities and 730 government and aided colleges under the Higher Education Department. The move comes in the wake of the recent self-immolation of a girl student at FM College in Balasore, allegedly over harassment by a faculty member. (With agency inputs)