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Got 3,500 complaints against Thanjavur institution: NCPCR tells Supreme Court
Ahead of a hearing on the Thanjavur girl’s death on Wednesday, NCPCR told Supreme Court that the commission received 3545 complaints seeking an inquiry into the affairs of the institution where the death took place.
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has offered to share complaints received against the Christian institution in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur where a 17-year-old girl died by suicide in January this year, allegedly over harassment and pressure of religious conversion.
In an application filed in the Supreme Court ahead of a hearing on the case on Wednesday, NCPCR said that following the death of the girl on January 19, the commission received 3,545 complaints seeking an inquiry into the affairs of the institution.
“The NCPCR has come to the court in the hope that no other child would suffer from the similar fate as the child victim,” the child rights body said, citing findings of a three-member team led by NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo.
The application filed by NCPCR’s lawyer Swarupama Chaturvedi said: “The NCPCR feels duty bound to submit the findings of its inquiry to assist the court with its findings.” The panel said that it was approaching the court in the larger interest of similarly-placed children and was willing to give to the court the statements of persons associated with the case in a sealed cover.
“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. It added that its team also found that the institution where the incident happened was functioning as a child care institution (CCI) and housed children illegally.
“The said premises was not a hostel but an orphanage whose license expired…. District authorities were unaware of the fact that children were housed in the institution,” the panel added.
The incident related to suicide by a 17-year-old at a Christian residential school. The class 12 student attempted suicide on January 9 due to alleged harassment by her school’s warden and was rushed to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital for treatment. She died ten days later.
In her dying declaration before a judicial magistrate, the girl blamed her hostel warden, who was arrested by the police, of constantly hitting her and scolding her and did not mention conversion as the reason behind her decision to kill herself.
An undated video clip surfaced on social media after her death. In this, the girl said that two years ago, her school warden urged her parents to convert her to Christianity with the promise of sponsoring her education. The man who is recording the video asks her if the alleged harassment happened because she didn’t convert. “Could be,” the girl responds. HT was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video clip.
On January 31, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court directed the probe to be transferred from the state police to CBI.
While going through the high court order, the top court declined to interfere as it found the high court’s reasoning was proper. The had high court noted that the police wanted to “suppress” the conversion angle and no fair investigation could be expected after three state cabinet ministers issued public statements in support of the institution in question.
The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation that runs the 160-year-old school in Thanjavur has denied the charge of religious conversion linked to the girl’s death. The BJP alleges that the girl was forced to die by suicide because she was tortured as she had not agreed to convert to Christianity.
