NCPCR to visit Thanjavur for inquiry in Lavanya suicide case, says TN govt not cooperating in probe of case
It should be remembered that Lavanya, a class 12 student, committed suicide after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity.
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New Delhi, Jan 29: Slamming the Tamil Nadu government for not taking action in the "forced conversion" case of M. Lavanya, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, therefore, is sending a team to Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu to probe the suicide of M. Lavanya.
The team will be headed by Chairperson Priyank Kanongo and they will visit Thanjavur district between 30 and 31 January to ascertain the facts of the case.
It should be remembered that Lavanya, a class 12 student, committed suicide after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity. Before dying, she gave her dying declaration, in which she alleged that her school was pressurising her to convert to Christianity, and had tortured her for refusing to leave Hinduism.
A Team led by NCPCR Chairperson Shri @KanoongoPriyank will visit #Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) for inquiry in the suicide case of a school girl on 30th & 31st January, 2022.@PIBWCD @MinistryWCD pic.twitter.com/eWiShvCNRm
— NCPCR (@NCPCR_) January 28, 2022
However, some media organisations and police have also, tried to play down the conversion angle in the case. In a bid to protect that school, the Tamil Nadu police have mentioned mental torture as the reason behind Lavanya's suicide in its status report submitted before the court.
Noting the injustice happening to the girl and her family, the NCPCR issued a notice to the state DGP on Jan. 21 and asked him to submit a factual report and lodge an FIR based on a statement from the girl and her parents. Moreover, the NCPCR has also asked the Tamil Nadu government for an explanation on the matter.
The NCPCR is also going to a meeting with the parents of a deceased girl, classmates of the deceased, the doctor who treated the girl before she died, and the doctor who performed the post-mortem of the deceased.
The NCPCR added that "the government of Tamil Nadu is reluctant to extend the necessary facilities/support to the NCPCR team for the said inquiry into the incidence on the pretext of imposition of Model Code of Conduct which came into force due to Local Body Ordinary Elections in the State of Tamil Nadu."
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