The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court transferred the Thanjavur student suicide case to the CBI on Monday, January 31.
The order comes the same day that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team is visiting Thanjavur to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
THANJAVUR SUICIDE CASE
On January 19, a Class 12 girl in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur died in the hospital after not responding to treatment. She had consumed pesticide on January 9, after she was allegedly forced to clean rooms and other menial work.
It is also alleged that she was forced to convert to Christianity.
The 17-year-old girl was staying in a boarding house called St Michaels Girls’ home in Thanjavur. She consumed pesticide in a bid to kill herself.
She was rushed to the hospital, and when she regained consciousness, she told the doctors about the abuse. Police questioned her, and based on her statement, they arrested the hostel warden.
However, the girl passed away on January 19 after not responding to treatment.
SCHOOL DENIES FORCED CONVERSION
The Thanjavur school released a statement saying the management had never intervened with any of the students’ religious beliefs.
They added that they had been running the institution for 180 years with the sole aim of educating the marginalised and those to whom education was denied.
The school also agreed to fully cooperate with the investigation.
PROBE TAKES POLITICAL TURN
After the incident came to light and allegations of forced conversion began to spread, the ruling DMK alleged that the BJP were stoking the fire to give the suicide a communal angle.
The ruling DMK and its allies accused the BJP of practising hate propaganda.
DMK leader Kanimozhi accused the BJP of trying to create disharmony in Tamil Nadu. She put out a tweet stating, “They are trying to create politics and disharmony here. Tamilnadu has always been a secular state and we all live as one. It is very sad that they are using a child’s death in such a way.”
DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICER RULES OUT CONVERSION
The District Education Officer (DEO) submitted a report ruling out the conversion angle in the suicide of the girl.
The investigation report states that in the past 10 years, 5,270 Hindu students have studied in the school as compared to 2,290 Christian students and 179 Muslim students.
According to the report, DEOs have visited the school 16 times since 2010 and they have not found any student raising complaints about religious conversion.
MADURAI BENCH RULING
On January 29, the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC reserved its order on the case. The bench was hearing a plea by the victim’s father to transfer the case to the CBI.
On January 31, the Madurai Bench passed orders to transfer the Thanjavur student suicide case to the CBI.
NCPCR PROBE
The child rights panel had received a complaint alleging that the minor girl was forced to illegally convert to Christianity and, upon opposing this conversion, corporal punishment was imposed on the girl. She was not allowed to go home and was made to clean toilets and wash dishes by the school authorities.
According to sources, the NCPCR commission in Tamil Nadu faced problems while probing the incident related to the girl’s suicide in Thanjavur.
In a statement, the child rights panel said the Government of Tamil Nadu has been reluctant to extend the necessary facilities/support to the NCPCR team for the said inquiry into the incident.
As a result, an NCPCR team, led by chairman Priyank Kanoongo, arrived in Thanjavur on January 31 to probe the incident and conduct an enquiry into the matter.
The team will visit the school and talk with classmates, teachers and the parents of the student.
