ABVP protests arrest of two of its members in woman student self-immolation case

A day after two of its members were arrested in the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College woman student self-immolation death incident, the ABVP on Tuesday staged a demonstration here accusing the Odisha Police Crime Branch of probing the case in a ''partisan'' manner.

Holding placards and banners, the ABVP activists led by Biswajit Patra, Bhubaneswar Organising secretary, raised slogans and burnt an effigy of Crime Branch of Odisha Police. ''We seek clarification from the chief minister on why an innocent student who attempted to save the burning woman student was arrested,'' Patra said, accusing the Crime Branch of investigating the case in a ''partisan'' manner. They also alleged that the Crime Branch was shielding the activists of the BJD and Congress who allegedly spread rumours against the deceased woman student. ''We also demand immediate release of the two students who have been arrested by the CB,'' Patra said. ABVP, a student wing of the RSS, staging an agitation against the BJP government in Odisha, has come as a major embarrassment for the saffron outfit. ''We see a political conspiracy behind the arrest and harassment of ABVP students,'' Patra said. The CB on Monday had arrested Subhra Sambait Nayak, the state joint secretary of ABVP and Jyoti Prakash Biswal, a student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, where the woman studied. ''They picked up innocent students from their house in the middle of the night on Sunday,'' alleged ABVP state secretary Diptimayi Pratihari. She said that the ABVP will not remain silent as its activists are harassed and attempts to implicate innocents continue. Attempts by the Odisha Police to ''torture ''ABVP workers mentally and physically will be strongly opposed, she said. Biswal was initially praised for trying to save the woman student, who set herself on fire on July 12 over alleged inaction on her sexual harassment complaint against a professor. He had also suffered burn injuries while trying to douse the blaze of the woman student, the ABVP leaders said. The two were arrested on Sunday night and booked under BNS section 108 (abetment of suicide) and 61(2) (a) (criminal conspiracy). Biswal was recently discharged from SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, after recovering from burn injuries. The state government had praised him for his ''heroic'' attempt to save the woman stuent.

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