The BJP on Thursday, January 27, 2022, announced the setting up of a fact-finding committee into the alleged suicide of a student in Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. The party claims the girl took the step due to an alleged pressure to convert to Christianity from her school.
BJP Mahila Morcha chief and Coimbatore MLA Vanathi Srinivasan said party president J.P. Nadda had authorised the setting up of a four-member committee for not just going into the "truth" of the case but also to "provide comfort to the bereaved family".
"Members of the committee are MP Sandhya Rai, BJP leader from Telangana Vijayshanti, Chitratai Wagh from Maharashtra, Karnataka Mahila Morcha president Geeta Vivekananda. They will be tasked with acertaining the facts of the case, especially the allegations of conversion made by the girl in a video circulated later, which we feel are being attempted to be suppressed and also to provide comfort to the beareved family," she said.
On January 19, Lavanya, a student of Sacred Hearts Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, committed suicide. Lavanya was harassed by her hostel warden Sagaya Mary, she was exploited by the warden to perform her personal chores, according to her dying confession and the FIR filed by the police. This was the reason for her attempting suicide. Lavanya's parents, on the other hand, claim that she was mistreated because she refused to convert to Christianity. A video of Lavanya indicating that she and her parents were asked to convert by Raquel Mary, a nun who works at the Sacred Hearts School, surfaced on social media a day after her death.
Given the fact that Sagaya Mary, the warden listed in the written dying declaration, was arrested shortly after the youngster died, Raquel Mary, a nun at the same school, has yet to be detained. This is because, as the SP previously stated, there is no direct evidence linking her to Lavanya's death.
The Madras High Court's Madurai bench on January 24, ordered the person who filmed the video of 17-year-old Lavanya, who died by suicide on January 19, to hand up his phone on Monday. Muthuvel, the man, has been summoned to appear before the investigating officer and surrender his cellphone. Lavanya can be heard saying in the 44-second video that went viral on social media following her death that two years ago, a woman named Raquel Mary had persuaded her to convert to Christianity, which she and her parents declined.
Justice GS Swaminathan was informed on Monday by the investigating officer that a man named Muthuvel had filmed the video while hearing the father's plea for a CB-CID investigation into the crime. The court ordered Muthuvel, who shot the video, to come before the investigating officer by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 25 to clarify whether the video contains the student's voice.
On Monday, the case's investigating officer came in court and told the judge that 37 witnesses, including school employees, pupils, and a nurse, would be questioned in the case, and that 14 of them had already been questioned. The investigating officer informed the court that the girl's video is on YouTube and that they require custody of the phone used to film the video in order to determine its truth and origin.
The Madras High Court then ordered the investigating officer to submit the phone, as well as the video CD, to the Tamil Nadu Forensic Science Laboratory in Mylapore, Chennai. The court has ordered the investigating officer to file a report on the video's validity after the forensic examination by Thursday, January 27. On January 28, the matter will be heard again.
Meanwhile, the girl's parents went before the magistrate and gave their statement as directed by the court. Their statement must also be presented to the investigating officer, as per the court.
The student's father is requesting a CB-CID investigation into his daughter's death before the High Court. The father said in court that the police are putting pressure on the family.
Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, the Tamil Nadu School Education Minister, had earlier urged people not to politicise the teen's death, saying that an investigation was ongoing. The minister stated that justice would be served to the student's parents.
"The truth behind the death of the girl by suicide will be ascertained and those responsible will certainly be punished," he told reporters. According to the minister, the school education department has already requested an explanation from the missionary school where the girl attended and has begun inquiries with students and former pupils over the claim of forced conversion.
If you know someone who is having mental health problems or is suicidal, please help them. Here are some suicide prevention helpline numbers that can provide emotional support to individuals and families.
Helpline Number
Run by Aasra
91-9820466726
Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week
Languages: English, Hindi.
Susan Mary Jan 29, 2022
When investigation is progress by investigating authorities the issue does not even warrant a discussion