Ahead of the Supreme Court’s hearing on the Thanjavur minor Hindu girl’s case, the apex court has allowed National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to submit documents in a sealed cover about alleged religious conversion by the Christian institution where the deceased girl was studying.
The Supreme Court is examining an appeal made by the DMK government in Tamil Nadu against the CBI probe into the suicide of the minor girl.
Following the appeal, the Commission filed an application to intervene in the proceedings.
NCPCR lawyer Swarupama Chaturvedi told the court that over 3,500 complaints were received by the Commission following the death of the 17-year-old girl on January 19.
She told the apex court that a wealth of evidence were came to light when the Commission conducted its spot enquiry on January 30 and 31. The commission which submitted its report earlier this month pointed out that there were several procedural lapses in the way the investigation was conducted by the investigation officers.
The NCPCR had also found gaps in the investigation and on its own inquiry found that the institution in question was not a hostel but an orphanage whose license had expired.
Children were staying at the institution illegally and district authorities were unaware of the fact that children were housed in the institution, the panel stated in its application.
“The NCPCR is apprehensive that there has been a grave injury and violation of the rights of the child victim when she was alive which has led her towards the decision to take her precious life,” the commission said.
The Supreme Court has upheld the Madras High Court’s verdict which ordered for the case to be transferred to CBI. The High Court had noted that the police wanted to “suppress” the conversion angle and that three state cabinet ministers had issued public statements in support of the institution in question skewing the investigation.
The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation whic runs the school in Thanjavur has denied the charge of religious conversion linked to the girl’s death.
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