Bhubaneswar/Balasore: Following days of protest, Balasore and Odisha bandhs and suspended classes since July 12 due to self-immolation of a student over alleged sexual harassment by a senior faculty member, the college in Balasore resumed academic activities on Friday, with a low turnout of students.

Atmosphere on the campus was gloomy with students discussing the incident in the corridors, library and classrooms. “Her face comes to my mind whenever I enter the college. We lost a flamboyant and brave girl from our college. I miss her a lot,” said a batchmate.

Officials from three different investigating committees visited the campus to probe the incident. A four-member fact-finding team from the University Grants Commission (UGC) arrived at the college on Friday to investigate the circumstances surrounding the self-immolation by the 20-year-old student.

The committee comprises four members, led by Raj Kumar Mittal, a UGC member and professor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. The other members are Sushma Yadav, a former UGC member, Ashima Mangla, UGC joint secretary, and Neerja Gupta, vice-chancellor of Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. The team will examine institutional policies and support systems related to the incident, verify compliance with UGC’s 2015 anti-harassment regulations, and conduct on-site assessment and stakeholder interviews. Mittal said the UGC team is examining all aspects of the case and will submit its report within the next seven days.

In-charge principal of the college said the internal complaints committee (ICC) members and three students have been questioned by the UGC delegation. He added that eight more individuals have been summoned to appear before the panel on Saturday.

Similarly, a three-member high-level committee from the higher education department conducted a separate departmental inquiry. The committee, led by director of higher education Kali Prasanna Mohapatra, asked several questions to nine ICC members. The team focused on the circumstances leading to the incident, sexual harassment allegations against the HoD, the response of college authorities (administration, principal and ICC), identification of any lapses in handling complaints, and other related matters. On July 13, the high-level committee conducted a preliminary investigation and submitted an interim report.

Crime branch has intensified its parallel investigation, focusing on how the girl got petrol and other aspects related to her self-immolation.