The suicide case of the 17-yr-old Lavanya from Thanjavur, is currently under the purview of Central Bureau of Investigation following the order from Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.
Now, hostel warden Sagaya Mary who was arrested days before Lavanya’s death, and who had reportedly made the child do chores has been released on bail. Sagaya Mary had filed a petition in the Thanjavur District court, seeking a bail. Sagaya Mary, who was detained in the Trichy Central Jail, has now been released on bail. She was welcomed by DMK Trichy East MLA, Inigo Irudayaraj who honoured her with a shawl.
In her video testimony, Lavanya had clearly mentioned Sagaya Mary’s name, and said that she had repeatedly tortured her to do chores in the school.
Meanwhile, even as the court directed the case to the CBI, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu had appealed to the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court’s verdict.
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 Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on January 31 ordered to transfer the suicide case of 17 year old girl Lavanya to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The DMK and its allies along with their supporters have been trying to rule out the religious conversion angle since the beginning.
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