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MADRAS HIGH COURT TRANSFERS LAVANYA CASE TO CBI

The girl who committed suicide was allegedly being forced to convert by her school.

The Madras High Court on Monday handed over the probe of the death of a 17-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu’s Michaelpatti village to the CBI. While criticising the Tamil Nadu police for ruling out conversion as a possible reason for the suicide, the court said, “…there is nothing inherently improbable in the allegation that there was an attempt at conversion. It could be true or false. The matter called for investigation and not outright rejection”.

The case pertains to a 17-year-old girl, Lavanya, from a poor background, who studied in a Christian Missionary School in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district and was allegedly being forced to convert to Christianity by her school. Allegations of torture after her refusal to convert were levelled by the girl. According to police, the victim had consumed something poisonous on 9 January and had succumbed ten days later.

“Instead of ordering the investigation officer to take the additional materials to account, the SP directed the local police to register an FIR against the person who had taken the video,” the Madras High Court said. The reference was to the video which showed the girl alleging that she was being forced to convert by her school.

In a severe indictment of the Tamil Nadu police, the Madras High Court said, “Superintendent of Police wanted to silence any discussion regarding the conversion angle. The SP virtually threatened the person who shot the video.”

The court added that there is “merit in the petitioner’s counsel’s contention that the police, instead of finding out the truth of the allegations made by the deceased victim, have been trying to bolster the counter narrative.”

“What led the child to suicide has to be investigated. Before the investigation officer, the dying declaration of the child is available. Their authenticity is undoubted. Without doing so, District Superintendent of Police wanted to completely suppress the conversion angle,” the court said.

The court, while ordering the CBI inquiry made it clear that “The foregoing circumstances cumulatively taken will definitely create an impression that the investigation is not proceeding on the right lines. Since a high-ranking Hon’ble Minister himself has taken a stand, investigation cannot continue with the State Police.”

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