The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is sending a team to Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu to probe the suicide of M Lavanya. A press release issued by the NCPCR said that a team headed by Chairperson Priyank Kanongo will visit Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu to inquire into the suicidal death of the minor girl of the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Michaelepatt, as the child rights body has received a complaint regarding the matter.
In a dying declaration recorded on video, the 7-year-old girl student had alleged that her school was pressurising her to convert to Christianity, and had tortured her for refusing to leave Hinduism. However, the police and the media are trying to cover up the conversion angle in the case, and they are trying to allege that the girl killed herself because the school had asked her to do some regular chores.
Therefore, the NCPCR is visiting the spot between 30 and 31 January to ascertain the facts of the case. NCPCR also said that the Tamil Nadu government is not cooperating with it in the case, and therefore the commission will make all arrangements itself for the probe.
A Team led by NCPCR Chairperson Shri @KanoongoPriyank will visit #Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) for inquiry in the suicide case of a school girl on 30th & 31st January, 2022.@PIBWCD @MinistryWCD pic.twitter.com/eWiShvCNRm
— NCPCR (@NCPCR_) January 28, 2022
The NCPCR statement says, “a complaint was received by the Commission alleging that the minor girl was force to illegal conversion into Christianity and consequent upon opposing this conversion, the girl imposed corporal punishment, refused to go home and made to clean toilets and wash dishes etc., by the school authorities. As a result, the child committed suicide by drinking pesticides, because of atrocities faced by her.”
The NCPCR added that “the Government of Tamil Nadu is reluctant to extend the necessary facilities/support to the NCPCR team for the said inquiry into the incidence on the pretext of imposition of Model Code of Conduct which came into force due to Local Body Ordinary Elections in the State of Tamil Nadu”.
However, the Commission said that it still stands to its proposed visit to Thanjavur District Tamil Nadu for the purpose. The NCPCR will inquire into the incident of suicidal death of a minor girl, for which the concerned Superintendent of Police and Investigating Officer has been asked to ensure their presence, meeting with the parents of deceased girl, interacting with the classmates of the deceased, meeting/interacting with the Doctor who treated the girl before she died and the Doctor who performed Post-mortem of the deceased, meeting with the School authorities and also open to interact with the local populace, willing to interact with the Commission, said the statement issue by the commission.
The Commission said that since the state government is not extending support to the visit of NCPCR, the Commission will arrange the above-mentioned activities at a designated place to be identified on reaching Thanajaur, which shall be made public through NCPCR Social Media platform.
The class 12 student had committed suicide by consuming pesticide after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity. According to her dying declaration, as she had refused to convert, she was prevented from visiting home during the Pongal holidays, and was forced to do chores like cleaning toilets of the school, cooking and washing dishes.
But instead of probing the allegations made by the girl, the police were trying to question the person who had recorded her statement, after which Madras High Court had ordered the police to focus on the case instead. The girl’s father S Muruganantham had said in the court that the Thanjavur police was trying to protect the perpetrators who had tortured his daughter to convert to Christianity.
Even after the court’s observations, a section of media continues to peddle propaganda to protect the school. The News Minute has published multiple reports questioning the conversion angle and trying to dismiss the dying declaration of the girl.
