Woman attempts self-immolation outside secretariat Odisha, alleges police harassment

The woman, a resident of the Banpur area in Khurda district, was rescued before she could ignite a matchstick and was later taken to Capital Hospital for medical examination and treatment.

In Short

• Security staff near gate number 1 intervened before she lit a matchstick
• The woman was taken to Capital Hospital for examination and treatment
• She alleged mental harassment and wrongful detention by police in Odisha's Banpur

A woman allegedly attempted self-immolation outside the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar on Friday by pouring petrol on herself, police said.

Security personnel deployed near gate no 1 of the Lok Seva Bhavan immediately intervened and prevented the woman from setting herself on fire, they said.

The woman, a resident of the Banpur area in Khurda district, was rescued before she could ignite a matchstick and was later taken to Capital Hospital for medical examination and treatment.

The woman alleged that she had been mentally harassed and wrongfully detained by police in Banpur.

However, SDPO (Banpur) Sanjay Kumar Patnaik rejected the allegations and said the woman had been arrested in connection with a sexual harassment case lodged by a 15-year-old girl at the Baripada Town police station in 2022.

Police said the woman had remained in judicial custody for nearly three years and was recently released on bail.

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