New Delhi, Oct. 24 -- A fact-finding committee set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to investigate the death of a 20-year-old student in July in Odisha's Balasore district has found "serious lapses", "gross negligence", and "insensitivity" by the administration of her college in handling repeated sexual harassment complaints, HT has learnt. The 20-year-old second-year student of Fakir Mohan College in Balasore set herself on fire on July 12 and succumbed to her injuries two days later, sparking massive outrage across the country. In a complaint on July 1, the victim had alleged that the head of her department, Samir Kumar Sahoo, was asking her for "favours" and threatened to destroy her academic career if she did not oblige. But the UGC panel found that former principal Dilip Ghosh and the college's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) dismissed the second-year student's allegations as "politically motivated" because of her affiliation with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. "The victim's repeated complaints were ignored by the college administration and ICC, which dismissed her concerns as politically motivated because she was associated with the ABVP, even though the accused teacher had faced similar complaints earlier and was once suspended," a member of the committee told HT. Describing the victim as a bright student active in dance, debate, and martial arts, the panel member added, "No one from the college administration tried to save her when she set herself on fire." Both Sahoo and former principal Dilip Ghosh were arrested by Odisha Police shortly after her death, and charged under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita section 108 (abetment of suicide), section 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and section 3(5) (common intention). On Wednesday, the Orissa high court rejected their bail pleas stating that "the inaction of the college authorities would be the sole reason for the deceased taking such an extreme step." Another two students -- ABVP members from the college Subhra Sambit Nayak and Jyotiprakash Biswal -- were arrested by Odisha Police in August for their alleged involvement in the incident. Orissa HC on Wednesday granted them bail. On June 30 Sahoo barred the victim and eight other students from appearing for the fourth semester internal examination, citing their allegedly low attendance. On July 1, the student registered a complaint with the college's ICC, accusing Sahoo of sexual harassment....