Tamil Nadu police chief has issued a statement categorically denying that children were administered the two-finger test.
Governor Ravi said that the minor daughters of Chidambaram temple deekshithars were subjected to two-finger test. (Creative Commons)
Yet another spat between Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and the DMK-ruled state government, this time over sensitive subjects such as child marriage and the controversial “two-finger virginity tests” that the Supreme Court has described as a gross invasion of privacy.
Following Governor Ravi’s remarks that schoolgoing daughters of Chidambaram temple priests were made to undergo the two-finger test — and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) taking suo motu cognizance of the alleged incident — the state police categorically denied such tests were done on the children.
The DMK, too, denied the accusations, instead charging Governor Ravi of batting for the temple priests involved in conducting illegal child marriages.
In October 2022, three Podhu Deekshithar of the Chidambaram temple were arrested by the police following complaints of child marriage. Subsequently, the minors underwent medical tests.
Ravi, in an interview with a news outlet, said: “Out of vengeance, government officers of the social welfare department lodged eight complaints of child marriage against the Podhu Deekshithar of Chidambaram Natarajar temple — that they were marrying off their underage children — whereas there was no such marriage.”
He also stated that the parents were arrested and put in prison and their daughters — who were studying in Class VI and VII — were forcibly taken to hospitals and made to undergo the “two-finger test” for virginity.
Subsequently, some of them attempted suicide, he said.
“I wrote a letter to the chief minister, asking what is this? Now, against the backdrop of all that is happening, you want me to praise the government. Isn’t that too much?”, the Governor said.
Following the remarks, the NCPCR sought a detailed report from Chief Secretary Irai Anbu on the issue within seven days.
Further, the commission also sent a copy of the communication to the Director General of Police (Head of Police Force) C Sylendra Babu for necessary action.
On Friday, 5 May, DGP Sylendra Babu issued a statement denying the allegations of two-finger tests on the Deekshithars’ daughters.
He said that the personnel of the Chidambaram All Women Police Stattion had arrested the accused — including eight males and three females — only after collecting evidence of the child marriages.
“Out of four minor girls, only two were subjected to medical examinations after proper consultation with legal experts, and the medical examinations were done by female doctors. Those girls were not subjected to two-finger tests and the information that these girls tried to commit suicide is not true,” the DGP said.
A senior doctor of the Chidambaram government hospital told South First that the minor girls were subjected to routine medical tests and no two-finger tests were done.
“We have recorded every procedure done to the minor girls and the reports were sent to the concerned police after the examination,” the doctor, who did not want to be identified, said.
When contacted, B Ragubathi, the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Chidambaram, said that was not sure whether to provide information related to the case to the media.
However, an officer from the All Woman Police Station of Chidambaram told South First that they produced the minor girls for medical tests and during the examination, a police woman had accompanied them.
“The medical examinations were done as per the law,” she said.
In this controversial test, two fingers are inserted into the vagina by a medical professional to “test the laxity of the vagina” and determine if the hymen is ruptured.
The Supreme Court, in 2013, called the test an invasion of privacy and the Health Ministry’s guidelines say that the two-finger examination should not be conducted.
The Governor’s remarks yet again were fodder for a DMK vs BJP war of words.
Vice-president of BJP Tamil Nadu, Narayanan Tirupathy, slammed the state government on the issue. In a statement, he said that “it shows the anti-Hindu attitude of the DMK government to somehow take possession of the Chidambaram Natarajar temple”.
Raising several questions on who ordered such tests on minor children, and why the children were subjected to cruelty, Narayanan said that the DMK government should not be allowed to continue in power.
Countering the allegation, the DMK Student Wing Secretary Rajiv Gandhi accused Governor Ravi of spreading “WhatsApp rumors” and “showing his Sanatana intellect”.
“Governor is trying to save the accused Deekshithars by spreading a big lie that children were tested for virginity,,” he said.
Noting that, in the past, several cases were registered against those Deekshithars for forcing their minor children into marriage, Gandhi reiterated that “no two-finger test was conducted on any children”.
வாட்ஸ்சப் வதந்திகளை வாந்தி எடுக்கும் ஆளுநர் ரவி தன் சனதான புத்தியை காட்டி இருக்கிறார்! சிதம்பரத்தில் குழந்தைகளுக்கு கன்னிதன்மை சோதனை நடந்ததாக குறி பெரும் பொய்யினை பரப்பி குற்றம் செய்த தீட்சிதர்களை காப்பாற்ற பார்க்கிறார்!
திருமண வயது வராது கட்டாய திருமணம் செய்து வைக்கப்பட்ட…
— R.Rajiv Gandhi ✨ (@rajiv_dmk) May 5, 2023
On 5 October last year, based on a tip-off, the police arrested 46-year-old Deekshithar Somasekhar, the father of a 14-year-old girl whom he allegedly married to a 24-year-old man named Pasupathy
The police also arrested Pasupathy and his father, Ganapathy, who is also a Deekshithar.
All of them were booked under Section 9 (punishment for a male adult marrying a child) and the father under Section 10 (punishment for solemnising a child marriage) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006.
The Podhu Deekshithar families are hereditary priests of the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram.
The temple is not under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) Department of the state government.
In general, every married male member of the Deekshithar family gets a turn to perform the rituals at the temple and can serve as the chief priest for the day.
Only married Deekshithars are entitled to perform the highest ritual, called the Chadramoulisvarar Pooja. Further, the married Deekshithars are also entitled to a share of the temple’s revenue.
The DMK government and the Governor have been engaged in a tussle over these issues over many months.
The government has often accused the Governor of sitting on various bills passed by the legislative Assembly, the most prominent example of which was the one imposing a ban online gambling which the Governor sat on for months.
He finally cleared it after the Assembly passed the Bill again. Earlier, the Assembly had also passed a resolution condemning Governor Ravi’s obstructionist attitude. The DMK and its allies also wrote to the President of India seeking Ravi’s recall.
The DMK has also often taken to social media to condemn the Governor and run campaigns against him,
Among other instances, Governor Ravi questioned the DMK government about why it took them four days to transfer the probe in the Coimbatore car blast case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
He also took up the matter of the murder of a jawan by a DMK functionary and has been generally critical of what the DMK calls the Dravidian Model.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo MK Stalin has also been mustering support for moves to curb the powers of Governors, arguing that it goes against the grain of federalism.
Joint action against Governors’ moves that curtail State Govts’ functioning and threaten our federal principles is imperative. Thiru @mkstalin‘s proposal for coordinated efforts in this regard is highly appreciated. Responded offering full support for future actions. pic.twitter.com/j8e7mgqDTa
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) April 18, 2023
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