Normal life was partially affected in Odisha on Thursday following a 12-hour Statewide bandh called by the Opposition Congress and seven other political parties over the death of a college student, who set herself on fire last week after her repeated complaints of sexual harassment by a teacher were allegedly ignored.

Members of the Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), All India Forward Bloc, Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal took to the streets alleging that the student was forced to take the extreme step as her complaints went unheard.

The second-year Integrated BEd student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, had suffered 95% burn injuries and died on Monday night after battling for life for around 60 hours.

Educational institutes, commercial establishments, including banks and offices, remained shut during the day due to the dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by the political parties. The impact of bandh was visible in major cities such as Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Balasore, and Bhadrak.

Trains and long-distance buses were stopped at several places, leading to long delays and inconvenience for commuters. At some places protesters blocked the roads by burning tyres and parked their vehicles in order to stop vehicular movement. Vehicles associated with essential services, including ambulances, were allowed free passage.

“We express our gratitude to the people of Odisha for cooperating with the peaceful bandh. We are fighting for a bigger cause as Odisha is witnessing increasing incidents of violence against women. If we don’t raise our voice now, the situation will worsen further,” said Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhakta Charan Das.

“We have demanded the resignation of the Higher Education Minister[Suryabanshi Suraj], the Balasore MP [Pratap Chandra Sarangi], and the Balasore Sadar MLA [Manas Dutta]. The unprecedented public support for today’s bandh clearly indicates that the Mohan Majhi government has lost the moral right to govern,” said Suresh Panigrahi, CPI (M) State secretary.

Meanwhile, an assistant professor of a government university was arrested in Sambalpur for allegedly sexually exploiting a 20-year-old student, the police said.

On the basis of a complaint lodged by the woman, the Sambalpur Mahila Police Station registered a case and arrested the accused, said an officer.

Further investigation is under way, the officer said.

The accused has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by a court here, another official said.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Those in distress may contact Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health suicide prevention helpline: 011-40769002.)