The submission was made before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, during a hearing of the petition of accused Sakhyamari—hostel warden, to quash the CBI FIR against her.
Published Sep 21, 2024 | 11:43 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 21, 2024 | 11:43 AM
CBI
The CBI on Wednesday, 18 September, refuted the claims of forced religious conversion in the 2022 suicide case of a 17-year-old Tanjavur school girl.
The submission was made before the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, during a hearing of the petition of accused Sakhyamari—hostel warden, to quash the CBI FIR against her.
The 17-year-old twelfth-class student, staying at a hostel of a private Christian school in Michaelpatti, died of suicide in January 2022. The government-aided school was started in 1923 and currently educates around 700 students of various religions.
The issue was given religious colours, with the Ariyalur district Vishwa Hindu Parishad secretary Muthuvel alleging that the girl took the extreme step due to the pressure of religious conversion. He also circulated videos on social media, in which the deceased student claimed that the hostel warden forced her to convert to Christianity.
Subsequently, a demonstration was held in Tamil Nadu by the BJP and ABVP, a student organization of the BJP, demanding justice for the deceased student.
At the same time, another video of the student taken while undergoing treatment at the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital was released. She stated, “They asked me to do all the work that the warden could do. I couldn’t concentrate on my studies because of the heavy workload. So I took the step.”
Based on the allegations, Sakayameri was arrested and was later released on bail. Then BJP national president JP Nadda too ordered a four-member committee to investigate the conversion angle.
However, the villagers of Michaelpatti strongly opposed this. They informed the District Collector of Thanjavur, “Religious parties and organizations are trying to disrupt the unity of our town by using student suicide. Religious conversion does not happen in the school. It is not correct to say that conversion is the reason for the death of the student. The investigation will reveal the truth.”
They openly demanded that no group including the BJP group should come to our town for an investigation.
In February 2022, the CBI took over the case following the orders of the Madras High Court.
When the case was heard on Wednesday, Judge Ilangovan refused to quash the FIR, stating that, despite the reason for suicide was not religious conversion, the student was forced to do other work, which made her lag in her education adding extra burden to her.
The petition read: “I have nothing to do with the death of the student. No one forced her to change her religion. Therefore, in this case, the charge sheet filed by the police against me in the trial court should be cancelled and ordered.”.
Lawyer Mukhaideen Bhatsa, who appeared on behalf of CBI argued, “141 people have been investigated in connection with this case. 265 documents and 7 objects have been seized. No attempt was made to convert the student. At the same time, the student, who studied well, was forced to do other work. Because of this, she was lagging behind in education.”
“She died of suicide due to such reasons. There are sources for this. Therefore, the charge sheet should not be quashed,” he argued.
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court adjourned the hearing of the case to 24 September.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
(If you need support or know someone who has suicidal thoughts, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist or contact the helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families. Tele-MANAS: 14416; Arogya Vani: 104: Sahay Helpline: 080-25497777)
