The suicide of a 17-yr-old girl Hindu girl in Thirukattupalli, Ariyalur district due to alleged forceful conversion and subsequent torture for not converting her religion, has shaken social media. Lalita (name changed), a 17 year old girl studying at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Thirukattupalli near Thanjavur, committed suicide by drinking poison after she was allegedly tortured to convert to Christianity by the school for her to continue her studies.
A video testimony of the child was release where she clearly names the staff who torutured her was also released on social media. Lalita’s parents along with the BJP and other Hindu organizations gathered in front of the Thirukattupalli police station and protested saying that Lalita had consumed pesticides as the hostel warden Sagayamary had forced her to convert. However, instead of taking action against the school authorities who allegedly tortured the child, the police had arrested the parents of the child.
Following this, the father of the child, Muruganandham, has written a complaint to the Police Inspector of the Thirukattupalli Police Station. In the letter, he clearly states in Tamil, “On 10-01-2022, the authorities of the school called me and said that my child’s health was not fine and asked me to come and collect her immediately. I immediately brought her home, and as she was scared and sick, took her for treatment to the Thirumanur Government Hospital. As her health deteriorated, we then admitted her to a private hospital in Ariyalur.”
He has further stated that the doctors in the hospital identified that the child had consumed poison. He had then enquired the child about the same, for which she had said, “Sister Rochelin Mary and Warden Sagayamary of my school were forcing me to convert to Christianity. I told them that I will not. Because of this, they reprimanded me with harsh words and made me do a lot of chores. As I was not able to bear their torture, I decided to commit suicide and therefore drank pesticide.”
Muruganandham has requested the Police Inspector to take action against the school authorities, including the Correspondent and Headmaster of the school, stating that they were the reason for his daughter’s death.
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