The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, is under mounting public and political scrutiny following two disturbing incidents in Odisha: the arrest of its state president in a rape case and its alleged involvement in the social harassment of a student who later died by suicide.
Udit Pradhan, the Odisha state president of NSUI, was arrested by Bhubaneswar police in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old engineering student. According to the police complaint, the student said she was drugged and sexually assaulted by Pradhan in a hotel room in March after he invited her for dinner. She filed the complaint recently, prompting the arrest. Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena confirmed that Pradhan would be produced in court on 21 July 2025.
The NSUI Connection In Similar Case
Meanwhile, NSUI has also come under fire in a separate and tragic case involving the death of a 22-year-old B.Ed student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore. The student had accused her Head of Department, Professor Samir Kumar Sahu, of repeated sexual harassment in a formal complaint filed with the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on 1 July 2025. Despite assurances of action within seven days, no steps were taken.
On 12 July 2025, during a student protest outside the college, the victim reportedly set herself on fire near the principal’s office. She succumbed to her injuries—sustaining over 90% burns—after battling for her life for three days at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. AIIMS confirmed her death at 11:46 PM on 14 July 2025.
Following her death, the police arrested both Professor Sahu and college principal Dilip Ghosh. The student’s father alleged that the ICC and principal had pressured the family to withdraw the complaint and threatened them with legal action. The student’s brother vowed to continue pursuing justice.
However, multiple students from the college and social media testimonies have presented a contradictory version. According to several eyewitnesses and peers close to the victim, the student was affiliated with the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), the student wing of the RSS. After filing her complaint, she was allegedly mocked and harassed by members of the NSUI and Biju Chhatra Dal (BJCD), the student wings of the Congress and BJD respectively.
Reports claim that these student activists questioned her character, labeled her “attention-seeking,” and spread rumors to socially isolate her. Photographs have also surfaced showing the accused professor dining with NSUI leaders, prompting further outrage. These developments have raised serious questions about the internal dynamics within the campus and the extent of political interference in student safety cases.
NSUI leaders went all out to bully the victim, mocking her, questioning her character, calling her unstable and attention-seeking.
She wasn’t unstable, she was unheard and humiliated by NSUI.
The accused even dined with NSUI leaders, yet Rahul Gandhi dares to blame the BJP… https://t.co/BdRpKsdfbP pic.twitter.com/HrWbH1bbyw
— Political Kida (@PoliticalKida) July 15, 2025
With both incidents now under investigation, NSUI’s conduct and accountability have come under national spotlight.
Police inquiries in both cases are ongoing.
(With inputs from Times Of India)
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