TN girl suicide: BJP demands transfer of case to CBI as another video emerges

Another video of the 17-year-old student who died by suicide emerged on Thursday in which she makes no mention of “forced conversion” by her warden who allegedly made her do all chores at the hostel, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The BJP, which is alleging that forced conversion was the reason behind the suicide, sought to take the issue national with party president J P Nadda constituting a four-member team led by Sandhya Ray, Lok Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, to visit Thanjavur and submit a report on the incident.

Separately, BJP Mahila Morcha chief and Coimbatore (South) MLA Vanathi Srinivasan demanded that the case be transferred to the CBI alleging that the ruling DMK and its alliance partner Congress are “protecting” the accused the Church.

In the fresh video purportedly shot by BJP functionary Muthuvel, the girl said she consumed pesticides as she was worried about performing in the plus-two exam due to pressure exerted on her by the warden to do all chores at the hostel like closing and opening the gates and ensuring that the motor is switched on and off every day.

“I had always secured the first rank. Due to my family situation, I came to the hostel late this year. But the sister (warden) asked me to write the accounts (of the hostel) and did not allow me to study. I was not able to concentrate on my studies,” the girl, who died on January 19, said in the video.

The girl also replied in the negative to a question whether she was disallowed to wear a bindi in the Christian school. In a video shot by Muthuvel which was shared by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai last week, the girl had said that she was asked to convert to Christianity by the warden two years back that her family refused to do so.

Armed with the video, the BJP had alleged that “forced conversion” was the reason behind the girl’s suicide and demanded implementation of anti-conversion law and took to the streets. Muthuvel, who shot the video, appeared before the police and handed over the phone used to record the girl’s statement at the orders of the Madras High Court.

Thanjavur District Police had debunked the “forced conversion” theory, maintaining that “mistreatment” by the warden had forced the student to take the extreme step. They also said religious conversion did not figure in the initial complaint filed by the girl’s father.

In a statement recorded before police and a judicial magistrate, the girl, sources said, did not mention forced conversion. School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh had also said a probe conducted by his department has made it clear that “forced conversion” as being alleged by BJP was not the reason for the suicide of the 17-year-old student.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the Minister had said police has informed him that the girl in her dying declaration recorded before government authorities did not speak anything on forced conversion (to Christianity) by the warden of a hostel managed by a Christian missionary in Thanjavur.