A 17-year-old student in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district died by suicide, exactly 10 days after she consumed pesticide. In a video that went viral on social media, the girl said she was being ‘tortured’ by her hostel warden after she denied her ‘conversion to Christianity proposal’, two years ago.
The minor was staying at St Michael’s Girl’s Home in Thanjavur and hailed from the nearby Ariyalur district. Investigating the matter, Thanjavur district police said no complaint of ‘forced conversion’ was received, while they are probing on how and when the video was shot. “In the first round of investigation, we have not received any complaint of forced conversion. We have already filed a case and we are looking into the complaint filed by her parents,” Thanjavur District Superintendent of Police (SP) C. Ravali Priya Gandhapuneni told Deccan Herald. SP also warned of action against persons who revealed the minor’s identity on social media.
On the basis of the registered complaint, police officials have arrested the 62-year-old, hostel warden Sagayamari. She has been booked under various sections of the IPC and JJ Act.
As per the Deccan Herald report, in the viral video clip, the deceased was seen saying that her hostel warden began ‘torturing her’ by asking her to clean all rooms and do other chores. “She asked my parents two years back whether I can convert to Christianity and that she will take care of my educational expenses. Since then, she made me do all the work,” the girl said in the video.
The incident came to light after on January 10, the school authorities called the minor’s father Muruganandam stating that their daughter was admitted to a hospital after she vomited and complained of severe stomach pain.
Taking cognizance of the suicide, Tamil Nadu’s opposition is demanding strict action against several cases of forced conversion in the state. In a statement, state BJP chief K Annamalai raked up the incident and alleged that the FIR does not refer to the girl’s statement on attempts of ‘forced conversion’
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