The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted its report on the death of the minor girl from Thanjavur district who had allegedly committed suicide due to forced religious conversion and the subsequent torture meted out to her at her school.
The child rights agency had intervened in the case after there were allegations of the ruling state machinery indulging in suppressing the religious conversion angle.
Following several complaints sent to the commission from different quarters, a team of officials from NCPCR had visited the school and the boarding of the deceased girl on January 30 and 31 to inquire into the circumstances that led to the suicide of the girl.
The report pointed out that there were several procedural lapses in the way the investigation was conducted by the investigation officers.
But here is what the ruling DMK and its minions in the media won’t tell you.
1) The report stated that the investigating authorities ignored all pleas made by the family to investigate about the minor girl being forced to convert to Christianity and added that they were trying to conceal material facts pertaining to the ‘care given’ to the child while she was staying at the child care institute.
2) The report mentioned the ‘hostel staff’ had taken the victim out of station for ‘some work’ without information or consent of the parents.
3) Contrary to the claims made by certain media outlets and influencers who are sympathetic to the DMK, the report mentioned that before the deceased girl was allowed to be taken for the treatment to the other hospital, the school authorities collected fee from the mother.
4) YouTube channels like Red Pix and their like had even peddled that the girl’s education was financed by the PT teacher. However, the report mentions that even on January 10, 2022, 2500 was collected as school/exam fee from the parent.
5) Another important point in the report that adds weight to the conversion angle is that the minor girl had stopped wearing jewellery and bindi/tika. Women of most of the Christian denominations in India like the protestants, pentecostal, etc do not wear bindi. It is pertinent to note that Lavanya’s parents had said that the school had asked the girl become a nun and had even offered incentives for that.
6) The report also stated that when the deceased got 1st rank in class 10th, Racheal Mary (who was named in the dying declaration video that went viral) had asked her and her entire family to convert into Christianity in order to get good marks in future.
Despite all these observations, made in the report, News 7 Tamil, a popular Tamil mainstream news channel peddled half-truth saying that the report by National Commission Commission for Protection of Child Rights does not mention conversion as the reason for the death.
DMK’s mouthpiece Kalaignar TV and an alleged journalist from Puthiya Thalaimurai too spread news that the report made no mention of conversion.
Lavanya, who was studying in class 12 at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti near Thanjavur, committed suicide by drinking pesticide after she was allegedly tortured to convert to Christianity by the school. Lavanya’s parents alleged that there was an attempt to forcefully convert their child and become a nun which the child had rejected and hence was subject to torture.
The case is now being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation as per the order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
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