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.

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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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The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Egmore Chennai has granted bail to 32 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers, who were arrested for protesting in front of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s residence were released from prison on Tuesday (February 22).

The ABVP workers had protested in front of MK Stalin’s residence in Teynampet demanding justice for Lavanya, the young girl driven to suicide by her Christain school and were remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by Saidapet Magistrate Court.

Out of the 36 activists who participated in the protest, three have been released on account of being minors, while 33 others, including ABVP’s National General Secretary Nidhi Tripathi, Susheela, were sent to Puzhal Jail (women) and Chengalpattu Jail (men).

According to RC Paul Kangaraj, secretary of the BJP Legal Cell, who appeared for the arrested said, “The police initially registered a case under sections 143, 147, 153 (promoting enmity between two groups), 353 of IPC and 3 of the TNPPDL act against them. The police asked for a one day remand. But the magistrate gave them 14 days remand. After hearing the arrest of students, Union minister, top legal luminaries contacted us to help legally and in all possible ways.”

The court issued bail to 32 students on Monday with conditions including surety, and they must present themselves before the police as and when required.

The parents of the incarcerated workers of the ABVP thier role and said it should not deter from the government’s vindictive and intimidatory attitude and should participate in more protests in the future for the right cause.

Nidhi Tripathi, Muthuramalingam, Hari Krishna, Ashish Chouhan said, “We have been falsely charged with Section 353 IPC – assault on a public servant, which is a non-bailable offence. Our protest was totally peaceful and not even a scratch was made by any of us, as evident in the videos. The DMK government is acting upon a vendetta and targeting students. They have filed false charges on us for participating in the peaceful protest, sending student activists to jail who are raising their voice calls for action. We are prepared to fight the DMK government. Nowhere in the country did students were remanded for 14 days for gathering in front of CM’s residence. Detained students and political cadre would be freed by evening, provided no violence takes place.”

They added, “The police had behaved very badly with the girls. They used abusive and filthy language against and said they would teach us which will make us to think twice before taking part in such protests.” ABVP national secretary Prena Pawar, in the statement, said, “The decision of the Hon’ble court against this authoritarian attitude of the government is going to be far-reaching. ABVP is committed to taking Lavanya’s fight for justice.”

“It was due to CM Stalin’s high ego, autocratic thinking, misused of power and minority appeasement policy, students were remanded to jail illegally. It should be the first and last,” said the cadre in the meeting.

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Following the registration of the First Information Report (FIR) in the suicide case of Thanjavur minor Hindu girl, , the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday (February 21) began its probe by visiting the school and hostel in Michaelpatti in Thanjavur district.

Officials reportedly inspected the classrooms, hostel room and the room of the warden who was recently released on bail. While a part of the team left Michaelpatti at 3.30 pm, a few officials, including Deputy Superintendents of Police of CBI, continued the probe at the school. Officials from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory of the agency also arrived to the spot.

The CBI had registered the FIR after the Supreme Court upheld the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court’s verdict that ordered for the case to be transferred to the agency.

The FIR registered by the CBI is based on the report filed by the Tirukkattupalli police on January 16, which was based on the 17 year old girl’s statement when she was admitted at the Thanjavur Goverment hospital. She died a few days later.

FIR has been registered under Sections 305 (abetment of suicide of child), 511  of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 75, 82 (i) of the Juvenile Justice Act.

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.

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The BJP’s student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has demanded the release of its activists who were arrested when they protested in front of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s residence seeking justice for Lavanya.

The ABVP has taken a vow to continue the fight for justice for Lavanya who was mistreated and tortured by church officials who ran the school where she was one of the top students.

When the protest broke out, the Tamil Nadu Police had arrested several ABVP functionaries, including its national secretary Nidhi Tripathi, for organising a protest without permission in front of the chief minister’s residence which has been deemed as a security breach.

The ABVP on Thursday (February 17) held a press conference in Delhi over the Lavanya case and demanded ‘the Tamil Nadu government release Tripathi and other activists who were arrested when they were holding a peaceful demonstration.

The case of Lavanya has caught national attention after it emerged that she was brutalised at the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School and a nun who allegedly tried to coerce her to convert to Christianity that led to her consuming poison on January 19.

ABVP’s National Media Convenor Sidharth Yadav said, ‘The arrest of activists who were protesting in Tamil Nadu is completely wrong and against the rules, which we strongly criticize. We will continue our fight till Lavanya gets justice and if the government does not release our workers at the earliest, we will take to the streets of Delhi and block roads. We will take Lavanya’s voice to every student and will also gherao the house of DMK MPs in Delhi if needed. The Tamil Nadu government is oppressing the students by conspiring but we are ready to face them strongly,”.

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In a major development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday (February 15) registered the First Information Report (FIR) to probe into the suicide of the minor Hindu girl from Thanjavur.

This comes a day after the Supreme Court upheld the Madurai Bench of Madra’s High Court’s verdict that ordered for the case to be transferred to the CBI. The apex court had also asked the state not to make the matter a prestige issue and hand over the CBI all papers/documents pertaining to the case.

The CBI has registered the FIR naming Sagaya Mary as the first accused in the case.

It is pertinent to note that a few days ago, Sagaya Mary, who was detained in the Trichy Central Jail, was released on bail and was welcomed by DMK Trichy East MLA, Inigo Irudayaraj who honoured her with a shawl.

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.

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Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) National General Secretary Nidhi Tripathi, and 40 other ABVP workers were arrested today, after protesting in front of Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin’s house, demanding Justice for Lavanya. This comes at a time when the SC just upheld the HC’s decision to transfer the probe to the CBI.

In a video, when the Press is asking her why she’s protesting, even after the Supreme Court’s verdict, she said, “Yes, but now the Government is not cooperating with the CBI. They’re also not cooperating with the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). Why are they not cooperating? They have to cooperate with both NCPCR and the CBI.”

இந்து மாணவர் அமைப்பான ABVP தேசிய பொதுசெயலாளர் @nidhitripathi92, தேசிய செயலாளர் @Muthu_R_Lingam தலைமையில் மாணவர்கள் முதல்வர் இல்லத்தை முற்றுகையிட்டு லாவண்யா மரணத்திற்கு நீதி கேட்டு போராடினர்.

போராடிய அப்பாவி மாணவர்களை காவல்துறை தாக்கியதற்கு கடும் கண்டனம்.#JusticeForLavanya pic.twitter.com/4LXwmt17tp

— CTR.Nirmal kumar (@CTR_Nirmalkumar) February 14, 2022

When asked for a message to the Tamil Nadu government, Nidhi said, “We have only one question, Lavanya’s father is a member of the DMK for the past 25 years. But till now, they’re unable to deliver justice to their own cadres. What can we expect from them?”

@ABVPVoice National General Secretary @nidhitripathi92. National Secretary @Muthu_R_Lingam & 40 other ABVP workers got arrested for protesting outside TN CM Stalin’s house. #JusticeForLavanya was their Slogan. pic.twitter.com/njUk45GKJy

— Anand T Prasad (@itisatp) February 14, 2022

The ABVP workers and Nidhi Tripathi are seen literally carried to the police cars for detaining them. Even then they keep raising the slogan “Justice for Lavanya”. Earlier this week, Nidhi Tripathi ad written a letter to the CM, subject of which was, “Lavanya’s Second Murder”. She had pointed out the insensitivity of the Tamil Nadu government towards the case, and also the lack of cooperation.

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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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The Bhartia Janata Party’s (BJP) student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has strongly condemned the ruling DMK government’s appeal against the High court order that has recommended  Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the Lavanya suicide case in the Supreme Court.

Addressing media in Chennai, ABVP National general secretaries Nidhi Tripathi, Muthuramalingam, and CWC member Nivedha said the DMK led by Chief Minister MK Stalin holds power in the state of Tamil Nadu has betrayed the sentiments of the bereaved family by opposing the Madras High Court–Madurai Bench’s order to hand over the investigation of the Lavanya suicide case to the CBI.

ABVP has now called on the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and National Commission for Women (NCW) to take strict action against the harassment, forceful conversions across evangelical institutions, and demanded the Tamil Nadu government bring a law against forceful conversion.

Nidhi Tripathi who had led the delegation visited the family members of Lavanya along with National Secretary, Muthuramalingam and State Secretary (South TN) Sushila on Thursday (February 3).

However, what is even more shocking is that Lavanya’s father, Muruganantham, who is an active worker of DMK has been snubbed by his own party leadership no DMK functionary has visited his family even to pay condolences.

The ABVP has demanded a thorough inquiry and has called for the filing of criminal cases against the two nuns and the evangelical institution who mistreated and forced Lavanya to convert which led to her suicide

The ABVP has said, “The DMK led government should stop harassing the family of Lavanya by maligning the very fabric of our family system. The prejudiced DMK leadership should come clear of appeasement politics and missionary pressures and should acknowledge the statement of Lavanya regarding the forceful conversion. TN government should take immediate action against all evangelical intuitions to stop religious propaganda and forceful conversion by harassing minor students of other faiths, which violates the Constitution of India. Union government should take actions against academic institutions promoting institutional evangelism,”.

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In a recent update to the minor Hindu girl suicide case from Thanjavur, a new testimony video of the girl has surfaced, in which the child speaks about how she was tortured, but does not mention conversion.

In this video, which was published by the India Ahead Tamil YouTube channel, an unknown person is video-graphing the child as she narrates the circumstances that led her to consume poison. After mentioning her name and her parents’ name, she moves onto convey the incidents. “I always secure the first rank in my class. But, this year, due to a family situation, I was not able to go to school for a few days. I started going to school a little late. The Sister at my boarding school would always ask me to do mathematics. She would never listen even if I told her that I couldn’t understand the concepts because I joined late, and that I would complete the mathematical problems later. She would say that it’s okay and will always make me write something or the other.

Even if I write it correctly, she would say it is incorrect and make me sit for an hour, to solve just one math problem. I was not able to concentrate at all. Due to this reason, I was securing lesser grades. As this continued, I thought that I won’t be able to study and therefore I consumed poison,” she says in the video.

The unknown person who is taking the video then asks the name of the sister for which the child replies, “Sagamary”. He then goes onto ask her if the name of the Father (Pastor) of the school, for which she says there is no Father. Then, when he asks for the name of the school headmistress, the child says that she is not involved in any of this. On insistence, she then names the headmistress as Arogyamary.

The videographer then asked her if she was asked to do any other work, for which the child replied, “They would ask me to lock the gate, They will ask me to do all the chores. I have to open the gate when everybody wakes up in the morning. I have to turn on the motor, and check if water is available after everybody finishes eating. Warden sir makes me do all the work. When I ask him why I should do all the chores, he would say that only I was responsible.”

The person then asks if they ever told her not to wear a Bindi in school, for which the child says no. And then when the person asks he if she came home for Pongal, she says, “When I asked them for going home, they told me that I needed to study and made me stay there (in school) itself. They sent me home for Pongal because I was feeling unwell.” He then asks her if they were aware of her consumption of poison, for which she replies that they were unaware.

It is to be noted that the incident of “forceful conversion” has not been mentioned anywhere in this video. However, the child has claimed that she was tortured and was made to do all the chores.

In the earlier video which went viral (believed to be a portion of this video), the girl had mentioned that there was attempt to convert to her two years ago.

(With inputs from India Ahead Tamil)

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Lavanya, 17 year old girl studying at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Thirukattupalli near Thanjavur, committed suicide by drinking pesticide after she was allegedly tortured to convert to Christianity by the school.

Now, a new information has now emerged that the staff of the Christian school had kept insisting Lavanya not only for conversion but also to become a nun.

Speaking to a news channel, Lavanya’s step mother had said that the school had asked the girl become a nun and had offered incentives for that.

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Shocking truth emerging in #JusticeForLavanya ! School Management & Teachers kept insisting Lavanya not only for conversion but also to become a Nun. Both she & her parents refused such a proposal & because of #COVID they couldn't change the school as they underwent this torture.

— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) January 24, 2022

However, the DMK’s School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in an interview given to The Hindu has given a clean chit to the school by saying that none of the other students in the school complained of conversion.

“Christian students in that area accord priority to education. They have not made use of the opportunity to convert students to Christianity. Truth will come out only after a thorough enquiry.”, the DMK Minister had said.

Lavanya in her dying declaration, a video of which went viral on social media, the girl said that she was asked to convert to Christianity by the school if she wanted to continue her studies further.

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