The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), on Wednesday, August 20, issued a notice to the Odisha DGP demanding a detailed report within two weeks on the self-immolation death of a 19-year-old woman college student in Odisha’s Kendrapara after her FIR against her ex-boyfriend was allegedly not accepted by local police.
The NHRC took suo motu cognisance of a media report about the death of a woman student on August 6 due to self-immolation in Odisha’s Kendrapara district after alleged police inaction against her former male friend, threatening to upload her obscene photos on social media, according to an official stated issued by the rights panel.
“The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Odisha, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks, including the status of the investigation,” the NHRC said.
The NHRC action came a day after Kendrapara SP Siddharth Kataria stated that the woman committed suicide by pouring inflammable substance on her body when no one was present at house on August 6 and that it was not a case of honour killing as some had alleged.
“It was not a case of honour killing as alleged earlier,” the SP had said on Tuesday.
The Kendrapara SP also confirmed that her ex-boyfriend had sent objectionable photos of the victim to her father and others on July 17.
The police have seized the mobile phones of all concerned persons and are verifying whether they too made it viral. The police have arrested the victim’s ex-boyfriend, who is the lone accused in the case, he said.
Observing that the allegations raise serious human rights concerns, the NHRC has given the Odisha DGP two weeks to provide a detailed report, including the status of the investigation.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights, the statement said, adding that therefore, it has issued a notice to the Odisha Director General of Police, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks, including the status of the investigation.
“According to the media report, carried on 7th August, 2025, the girl was studying at a College in Kendrapara district. Her father alleged that she was being regularly blackmailed by a former male friend. A complaint in this regard was given to the police by the father of the victim about six months back, but neither an FIR was registered nor any action was taken against the alleged perpetrator,” the NHRC stated.
“Rather, a police officer reportedly discouraged him from pursuing the matter and suggested blocking the phone number of the blackmailer,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Kendrapara SP stated that he has transferred ASI Sailendra Mohan Palei from the Pattamundai (Rural) Police Station to ensure a transparent investigation.
The victim’s father had named Palei as the police officer who did not register the case six months ago.
The father had said that had Palei registered the case and action had been taken against the accused ex-boyfriend, his daughter would have been alive today. Palei, however, denied the allegations and claimed that no one had approached him with an FIR, nor did he suggest anyone to block the mobile number of the accused person.
