India, Aug. 13 -- Three women and two girls have died by self-immolation in Odisha over the past month - a figure that mental health experts attribute to acute psychological distress, inadequate mental health support, and a possible copycat effect that raises the risk of similar incidents.

The last reported case was that of a 30-year-old man in Bhubaneswar who is battling 50% burn injuries in hospital after he set himself on fire over dispute with his siblings on August 12, just a day after a 13-year-old in Odisha's Bargarh district died of burn injuries barely a few hours after she allegedly set herself on fire on Monday.

Exactly a month ago, a 20-year-old woman, a second-year student at the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore...