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Teammates feel uncomfortable sharing locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas claiming she still has male body parts

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Teammates feel uncomfortable sharing locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas claiming she still has male body parts

On Friday, the female swimmers of the University of Pennsylvania slammed the school for allowing transgender swimmer Lia Thomas to swim against women swimmers. The teammates have also complained that they feel uncomfortable sharing the locker room space with Lia.

According to reports, the female swimmers are forced to share the changing room and locker room with 22-year-old Lia Thomas is biologically a male. The ladies have alleged that the school condones this.

One of the 35 swimmers in an exclusive interview to the Daily Mail has said that Thomas has male body parts and is still attracted to women. “While Lia covers herself with a towel sometimes, there’s a decent amount of nudity”, she was quoted adding that she and other teammates have had an accidental glimpse at Thomas’ private parts.

The University of Pennsylvania has thought about Lia Thomas but hasn’t thought about how girls might feel to share the locker room with a trans, she added further alleging that the coach and the school have forced them to accept Thomas.

The swimmer girl who was interviewed has strictly asked to keep her identity secret as no one but only she is ready to speak about the problem and that she fears that the society might think of her as a ‘trans-phobic’.

Colleen Young, an American swimmer who is a three times Paralympic medalist has also raised her voice to protect women’s sports. “Lia Thomas is a biological male swimming against biological females. Whether she identifies as a girl is irrelevant to the fact that she was born a male, went through puberty as a male, and swam on the men team for 3 years. Protect women’s sports”, she tweeted.

Meanwhile, Brooke Forde, an NCAA swimmer who is likely to compete against Lia Thomas for a national title has said that she has no problem in competeing to a former male and that respecting person was more important than winning a trophy.

In a statement, Brooke said, “Social change is a difficult process and it requires enormous amount of courage. I will not have problem racing against Lia at NCAA’s this year”. She also added that Lia Thomas’ leadership is admired and would help many trans athletes around the globe.

It is to be noted that Lia Thomas has spent the previous three years swimming with the University of Pennsylvania men’s team as ‘Will Thomas’ before she began transitioning to a woman in 2019.

‘They’re not deployed for my security but for my recce, may shoot me’: Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam plays victim as SP fields him from Suar post bail

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‘They’re not deployed for my security but for my recce, may shoot me’: Azam Khan’s son Abdullah Azam plays victim as SP fields him from Suar post bail

Abdullah Azam jailed Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Azam Khan’s son has now decided to play victim before the upcoming assembly polls. Abdullah has said that he does not even trust the policemen who are deployed for his security. Speaking to the media, Abdullah Azam Khan said that the policemen who are deployed “not for security but for his recce” might even shoot him someday. It is to be kept in mind that SP has fielded him as a candidate after he has recently been released from jail on bail.

“I’m alone, I have no one with me. I don’t even trust the Policemen who are with me, they can shoot me…They’re not deployed for my security but for my recce,” opined Abdullah Azam who was released on bail from Sitapur jail on January 15, after serving almost 23 months of imprisonment.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Abdullah Azam from the Suar Assembly seat in the next month’s Uttar Pradesh elections.

Abdullah further said that the BJP leaders had officers, police and two governments with them but he had no one. “You (BJP leaders) have officers with you, police with you, two governments with you. I’m alone, I have no one with me,” added the SP leader.

It may be noted that Abdullah and his father were lodged in the Sitapur jail after they were shifted from Rampur jail in February last year. Abdullah has as many as 43 cases registered against him in Rampur. He ran as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Suar in the 2017 Assembly election and won. In December 2019, the Allahabad High Court overturned his win, citing the fact that he was under the age of 25 when he submitted his candidature with forged documents.

Samajwadi Party shares multiple pages of criminal charges against Azam Khan, his wife and son Abdullah Azam, justifies giving them tickets

Recently, Samajwadi Party had shared criminal records of Azam Khan, his wife Tanzeen Fatma, and their son Abdullah Azam Khan after it declared that imprisoned Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan would run in the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly election from his hometown of Rampur. 

Khan is the current Lok Sabha Member of Parliament from Rampur. He has been jailed at Sitapur since February 2020. The Rampur candidate of the Samajwadi Party has been the subject of 87 criminal complaints.

The majority of the cases against Azam Khan are related to Indian Penal Code sections 153 (A) (Promoting hatred between various groups on religious grounds), 159 (Word, gesture, or activities intended to offend a woman’s modesty), 509 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 448 (house tress pass), and 500. (defamation). Azam Khan has also been charged with electoral fraud. He has been charged under Section 171 G in multiple cases (False statement in connection with an election).

It is notable here that Azam Khan and his family members also face multiple charges of theft, from stealing goats, electricity to stealing old manuscripts from an Islamic institution.

SP also wants to nominate Azam Khan’s wife, Dr Tazeen Fatma, who is currently out on bail and facing 35 court cases.

After Kashi Vishwanath corridor, Mahakal Temple in Ujjain to get expanded temple complex, Rs 714 crore project to be completed by 2023: Details

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After Kashi Vishwanath corridor, Mahakal Temple in Ujjain to get expanded temple complex, Rs 714 crore project to be completed by 2023: Details

The Madhya Pradesh government has vouched for the development of Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple ahead of the Mahashivratri festival on March 1. CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan chaired a meeting yesterday to review the project and said that the temple would attain a celestial attractive form. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has vowed to develop an expanded temple complex, the first phase of which would be completed in the next 3 months.

“The Teerth in Ujjain will be developed in such a way that there will be a feeling of grandeur and divinity. Necessary works will be completed soon to increase the beauty of the city”, he tweeted.

In a series of tweets, he added that the government will ensure that necessary facilities for tourists and devotees are continuously worked upon. He ordered the developers to make convenient the waiting room and the parking space around the temple. The devotees after three months are to witness new, attractive Heritage Dharmashala, a special pedestrian bridge and also the light and sound show.

The state budget of the Mahakal Temple Expansion Project is Rs 421 crores and the Centre’s budget is Rs 271 crores. The management will further contribute Rs 21 crores taking the total budget of the project to Rs 714 crore. CM Chauhan informed that 90 per cent of the phase one work was complete and the rest would be done before Mahashivratri.

According to the state, PM Narendra Modi will launch the first phase of the Mahakal Temple expansion project, which very recently unveiled the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project in Varanasi.

Meanwhile, CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan also launched a book on Mahakal Temple and congratulated author Anand Kumar Sharma for writing it. The book ‘Mahakal ke Adbhoot Prasang’ is useful, relevant and a well-researched book, he said.

Chauhan also has invited wide public participation for the festival of Mahashivrati to see every house in the city of Ujjain being lit with earthen lamps. Reports mention that the entire project would be complete by June 2023.

Karnataka: NIA chargesheet names ex-Congress MLA’s kin for recruiting youths for ISIS, terror funding

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: NIA chargesheet names ex-Congress MLA’s kin for recruiting youths for ISIS, terror funding

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet in the ISIS recruitment conspiracy case in which it has named the kin of former Karnataka Congress MLA, late B M Idinabba along with 7 others.

According to reports, the chargesheet has been filed against eight accused, including Deepthi Marla and Ammar Abdul Rahiman. Marla’s husband Anas Abdul Rahiman is the son of B M Basha, whose father Idinabba was a former Congress MLA. Idinabba died in 2009. Ammar Rahiman is Anas’s brother.

Others chargesheeted in the case were identified as Mohd. Waqar Lone, Mizha Siddeeque, Shifa Haris, Obaid Hamid Matta, Madesh Shankar and Muzamil Hassan Bhat. 

“Investigation has revealed that all eight accused charge-sheeted today are affiliated with ISIS and were involved in radicalising, recruiting, organising terror funds and grooming like-minded gullible Muslim youth through different secured social media platforms to perform Hijrat to ISIS-controlled territory for joining ISIS,” NIA said. 

“During the investigation, it has been revealed that after the decline of ISIS Caliphate in Syria/Iraq, Deepthi Marla and Mohd. Ameen had visited Kashmir in January and March 2020 for Hijrah (religious migration) and for engaging in terrorist acts and supporting the activities of ISIS,” the NIA added.

NIA arrested Ex-Congress MLA’s family member from Karnataka for ISIS links

It may be recalled that on January 3, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the residence of BM Basha, son of renowned Kannada writer and former Ullal MLA late B M Idinabba. The agency arrested Basha’s daughter-in-law, Mundadiguttu Sadananda Marla Deepthi Marlah alias Maryam into custody for alleged links to the terrorist organization ISIS. Basha resides at Mastikatte village near Mangaluru, Karnataka.

NIA stated that the arrests were made in connection to a case registered in March 2021.

NIA Deputy SP Krishna Kumar led the team and searched the house. Several documents were seized by the security agency. NIA secured her remand at a local court in Mangalore and took her to New Delhi for further questioning.

It is noteworthy that NIA had raided the same house in August and arrested Ammar, cousin of Anas Abdul Rahiman, for his alleged ISIS links. NIA had interrogated Mariam at that time but did not detain her. Reports suggest in the last five months, the security agency gathered enough evidence against her to initiate an arrest for suspected ISIS links.

So far, NIA has arrested 11 people for allegedly raising funds, radicalizing and motivating people to join the terrorist organization ISIS. Ammar’s niece Ajmala is believed to be one of 13 people from Kasaragod, Kerala, who had fled the country to join ISIS in 2016. As per the charge sheet filed by NIA in 2017, Ajmala and her husband Shifas KP left India in May 2016 and joined IS in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. Around that time, a total of 21 people had fled the country from Kerala to join IS.

As per the suo motu case registered by NIA last year, Mohammed Ameen and his associates were running propaganda channels on social media platforms including Instagram, Hoop and Telegram to recruit people to ISIS.

Gujarat: Maulvi, who provided a revolver and 5 bullets to the murderers of Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad, arrested

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Gujarat: Maulvi, who provided a revolver and 5 bullets to the murderers of Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad, arrested

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi on Friday, January 28 confirmed that the Muslim cleric (Maulvi) from the Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad, who had allegedly provided weapons to the murderers of 27-year-old Kishan Bharwad has been arrested, reports Desh Gujarat. Kishan was shot dead in Dhandhuka on January 25 as he along with his cousin, was passing by the Modhwada locality on his two-wheeler.

He had allegedly shared a social media post that had enraged some Muslims after which the murder was executed on instructions of two Maulvis, one from Ahmedabad and another one from Mumbai.

Speaking about the Maulvi’s arrest, Harsh Sanghavi said, “It was shocking that a Maulvi gave a revolver and five bullets for the murder. Radicalization of youths is unacceptable. Putting my hand on the head of the 20 days old daughter of Kishan Bharwad, I vowed and assured the family of timely justice.”

“Some murders are done in anger, some murders are executed for revenge, but this murder is special. This murder is a case of conspiracy. When an in-depth probe was carried out, we received the details on why this murder case is special. The details surfaced how murders were motivated,” Sanghavi added.

Meanwhile, Virendra Singh Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad (Rural) said: “It appears that this murder was part of a planned conspiracy. At times, people from different communities act out of rage and we sort out such acts of anger by counselling them. But this is totally different and radicalization of youths seems to be behind this.”

He confirmed that the Maulvi from Jamalpur had urged the accused Shabbir to carry out the murder and also provided him with a revolver and cartridges. The accused had become radicalised after the maulvi repeatedly told them that anyone who makes blasphemous remarks, nabi ki gustakhi, should not be spared, said Yadav.

The murder of Hindu youth Kishan Bharwad executed on instructions of two Maulvis, Gujarat Police identifies the suspects and arrests murderers

On January 28, OpIndia reported that the Ahmedabad Police arrested two persons and discovered links of two Maulvis in the murder case of 27-year-old Kishan Bharwad. According to the Zee News Gujarati, the murder was carried out on instructions of two Maulvis, one from Ahmedabad and another one from Mumbai. A Maulvi from the Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad had allegedly provided weapons to the murderers and Maulana from Mumbai had given the instructions.

Further reports by News18Gujarat state that the police has formed 7 different teams to investigate into the matter. Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi reviewed the investigation process by the Police and collected all the details of the case.

The matter came to light when the cousin of the victim, Bhaumik lodged a police complaint in the case and said that the murder could be related to Bharwad’s social media post around 15 days back. It is alleged that Kishan had shared a post on social media platform which the Muslims found offensive.

The video shared by Kishan had an image of Prophet Muhammad. As reported, the police had taken action against Kishan over the post as some people had outraged over it. Following the police intervention, both sides had reconciled, however, Kishan Bharwad was killed a few days after the incident.

‘God is everywhere, fanatics are the problem’: Madras HC rejects petition by Temple trustee seeking to stop eviction by Tamil Nadu govt

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‘God is everywhere, fanatics are the problem’: Madras HC rejects petition by Temple trustee seeking to stop eviction by Tamil Nadu govt

On Friday (January 28), the Madras High Court rejected a petition that sought to stop the eviction of a temple, which is allegedly built on public land in Veppanthattai in Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu, reported The Times of India.

As per reports, the petition was filed by a temple trustee named S Periyasamy in response to a notice issued by the Tamil Nadu Highways department for the eviction of the temple. During the hearing, he informed the court that the temple had been in existence for more than 3 decades.

S Periyasamy emphasised that the temple was built without impeding public movement or local transportation. His petition to prevent the temple eviction by the Tamil Nadu government was however rejected by the Madras High Court.

The matter was heard by a 2-Judge bench of Justices D Bharatha Chakravarthy and S Vaidyanathan. “The petitioner, in the garb of setting up a temple, cannot usurp the highways property, which is meant for public use irrespective of creed, caste and religion,” the Court observed. The Judges pointed out that ‘not causing any hindrance to the public’ cannot be accepted since the petitioner failed to show documents that prove the ownership of the land by the temple trust.

They further noted, “Even though the petitioner has stated that the temple was constructed three decades ago and the land belonged to the temple, what prevented him from producing necessary documents to establish his case? If the petitioner is so particular in facilitating the devotees to worship Vinayagar, it is open for him either to allot his unencumbered land or the land, if any, available to the temple and thereafter, shift idol to that place.”

The Madras High Court said that accepting the petition of S Periyasamy would send across a message that illegal occupation of land was permitted if it did not obstruct public or vehicular flow. It concluded, “God is omnipresent. God does not need a specific place for his divine presence. It is the fanatic, who is the root cause of all problems to divide the people in the name of religion.”

Karnataka: Principal of government school suspended after she allows students to offer Namaz inside the classroom every Friday

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Principal of government school suspended after she allows students to offer Namaz inside the classroom every Friday

A principal of a government school in Karnataka was suspended on Wednesday, January 26 for allowing students to offer Namaz in the classroom. The incident took place at Bale Changappa Government Higher Primary School, located on Bengaluru-Chittoor highway, where the headmistress, Uma Devi gave permission to around twenty students to offer Namaz in the classroom every Friday.

According to reports, the school authorities granted permission to Muslim students to perform Friday prayers inside the classroom in the month of December last year. The issue, however, came to light when a video of the incident was shot on Friday, January 21 and uploaded on various social media sites on January 23.

After the purported video went viral on social media, many members of various Hindu organisations protested against the authorities of the school for favouring children of a particular community.

Protesters said that since December of last year, Namaz had been permitted at the school. Ramakrishna, a local citizen told the media that the principal permitted the students without consulting any officials. “She has allowed students to pray inside the school on her own. This is not acceptable. We demand action be taken,” he said.

Speaking about the incident, one student had reportedly said, “We have been doing this since school reopened two months ago. Permission was given by the school headmistress.”

Following the protest, Umesh Kumar, the Kolar district collector, had ordered an investigation and sought a detailed report into the Mulbagal Someswara Palaya Bale Changappa Government Kannada Model Higher Primary School’s operations.

Minister Nagesh had also assured appropriate action against the school officials.“The incident in Kolar is too bad. No institution can allow such things. We have asked all concerned officers to visit the school at the earliest. Since the two days after the incident were weekends, a visit to the school was not possible. Now, they will visit the school and give a detailed report on what transpired there. We will take strict action based on the report,” said Nagesh.

Revana Siddappa, the Deputy Director of Public Instruction, had been tasked with visiting the school, conducting an investigation and filing a report on the same.

According to the investigation led by Deputy Director of Public Instruction (Kolar), Revana Siddappa, the principal initially stated that she did not allow students to offer prayers at school. “I don’t know anything about this. I haven’t done it. The students did it themselves. I was not here when this happened. The block education officer called and said this was happening at school and I rushed,” principal Uma Devi had reportedly stated.

Later, however, she justified her actions by claiming that she had authorised the students to offer namaz in the classroom to keep them from going outside for prayers. She also said that she had done so keeping the safety of the students in mind as they had to cross the national road to go to the mosque and also because many of them did not return to school for the afternoon sessions thus missing the in-class lessons.

However, she has been placed under suspension for the time being.

Gurgaon Namaz row

It may be recalled how Gurgaon, Haryana, had been embroiled in a huge controversy over the offering of Namaz at these public places in various sectors for the past few months. For weeks, locals had pushed back against Muslims who have resorted to communal praying in public locations rather than designated places of worship for weeks.

After prolonged protests, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar had categorically stated on December 10 that Namaz in open spaces will not be tolerated in his state.

He stated that members of all faiths should offer prayers in their own personal space or areas designated for worship. Namaz should be read in Mosques or Idgahs rather than public spaces. The trespassing on public spaces in the city under the guise of conducting religious prayer would not be allowed by the state administration henceforth.

Akhilesh Yadav’s helicopter was delayed due to high traffic and refuelling, informs Delhi Airport official

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Akhilesh Yadav’s helicopter was delayed due to high traffic and refuelling, informs Delhi Airport official

After Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that his chopper to Muzaffarnagar was deliberately held up at Delhi to prevent him from campaigning, Delhi airport officials have denied the allegations. An official of the airport said that the Akhilesh Yadav’s helicopter was delayed due to high traffic at the airport, and there was no conspiracy behind it.

According to the airport, at first, the helicopter was delayed due to high traffic, and after it was cleared for take-off, it was found that the aircraft needed refuelling, which delayed its departure further.

“Akhilesh Yadav’s chopper was not granted permission by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to fly initially because of high air traffic. After the clearance was given, the chopper had less fuel. After refuelling, the chopper flew to the destined place,” a Delhi airport official said.

However, Akhilesh Yadav has refused to accept the clarification, and alleged that aircraft carrying BJP leaders were allowed to take-off but only he was delayed. He said, “People told me that BJP leaders had taken off before me. I was told about the air traffic. But why did the BJP leaders who had taken off before me faced no issue? They did not have to wait while I had to wait for over two hours.”

Bringing the UP elections into the matter, he added, “No matter what the BJP does, the people of Uttar Pradesh will remove the party from power”.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that his helicopter was delayed at the Delhi airport for no reason. Posting a photograph of himself in front of the helicopter on tarmac, he had alleged that his helicopter was stopped without giving any reason and he was being prevented from visiting Muzaffarnagar.

He had alleged that this was conspiracy by BJP which is losing the polls. In another tweet he had termed it the misuse of power, and said that this day will be recorded in the history of Samajwadi struggle. ‘We are going to take a historic flight of victory’, he had added.

Akhilesh Yadav was travelling to Muzaffarnagar from Delhi to attend a joint press conference with Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Jayant Choudhary. After the helicopter was cleared to fly, the SP chief reached Muzaffarnagar and addressed the delayed press conference.

Yadav tweeted to inform that both the alliance partners took a ‘United Food Resolution’ to defeat and remove the BJP government, alleging that the BJP govt has committed atrocities and injustice on Annadata (farmers).

Madras HC reserves order on petition seeking CBI investigation into Lavanya suicide case: Details

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Madras HC reserves order on petition seeking CBI investigation into Lavanya suicide case: Details

In the latest development regarding the Lavanya suicide case, the Madras High Court on Friday 28th January 2022 has reserved the order on the petition filed by Lavanya’s father seeking a proper investigation in this case. The court reserved its orders after Justice GR Swaminathan heard the arguments of the petitioner, the Prosecution & the School. M Lavanya, a student of standard 12th in Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Thirukattupali in Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, had committed suicide after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity.

A petition was filed by the father of the deceased girl seeking a proper investigation in this case. Justice GR Swaminathan heard the argument of all the parties involved. ‘Live Law India’ has tweeted to inform people about the proceedings. Let’s peep into what actually happened in the courtroom.

‘We don’t trust the investigation as the video evidences are leaked’: Petitioner

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the girl had complained about harassment in the hostel. The petitioner counsel added while explaining the nature of the harassment, “She was made to do other works including accounting works. She complained that she won’t be able to study amid such works.”

The petitioner’s counsel further said “It is a matter to be investigated how the girl could obtain poison in the hostel. Statements made by the victim to third parties shortly before her death are to be taken as direct evidence. The principle of res gestae applies. So those statements cannot be questioned.”

Putting a question mark on the SP presenting to the press conference in a hurry, the petitioner’s counsel said “Immediately after the death of the child, the SP gave a press statement that there was no allegation of religious conversion in the FIR. The interview was given by police when there was an agitation to take action. After the agitation, the police took the complaint & arrested one person who is remanded to custody. After that parents moved this petition for change of investigation agency.”

On leaking of the video evidence, the petitioner’s counsel argued “The dying declaration given to the Magistrate was shown in TV. How can it be leaked? There are guidelines on dying declaration that dying declaration should not be made public until the final report is filed.”

Accusing police of leaking this video evidence, the petitioner’s lawyer said “In this case, the dying declaration recorded by the Magistrate has been published. It cannot be from the Court. Only through the police, it has been published in the news and social media. We have seen in social media two clippings in which she categorically stated about religious conversion. After Court’s direction, we appeared before the police. After handing over the sets, another video has been published. We have lost faith in the investigation. They have done injustice to the little girl. She was studying well. She has meted out some cruelty. In her own voice, she said two years back there was an attempt to convert.”

Seeking a thorough investigation by some central agency, the petitioner’s lawyer concluded “By releasing confidential information, they are creating a debate. We have lost faith. For fair investigation, the case has to be transferred to CBI.”

‘Muthuvel, who shot the video, is not cooperating’: Prosecution

The prosecution in response has argued that the one who has shot the video is not cooperating with the investigators of the case now. The prosecution lawyer argued “Alleged incident happened on 09.01.2022. She was taken to various hospitals. On 15.01.2022, she was admitted to Tanjavur Medical Hospital. There only it was found that she consumed poison. From 09.01 till 15.01, it was not known. On 15, it was found by a government doctor. Next day FIR registered and dying declaration recorded.”

The prosecution further added “We have recorded the statement of Muthuvel and asked to all he circulated. A forensic examination is going on. We are investigating all angles. We want to bring the truth. How many videos we don’t know. Because Muthuvel is not cooperating with the investigation. As of today, he is not cooperating with the investigation. We are not suppressing anything. We are doing our best to find out the truth.”

‘We are into education for last 300 years. We don’t convert’: Missionary school

The missionary’s school in whose hostel the incident has happened has attempted to act naive in the courtroom by saying that they are into education for the last 300 years and to convert Hindus is not their mission. Xavier Arulraj who argued for the school has said that the school is deeply pained by the demise of the girl.

He further added “Majority of our students are Hindus. The majority of our staff are Hindus. We don’t discriminate on basis of religion. We follow a secular approach. We do not shy away from any investigation. But the allegations in the petition are very serious. We don’t do the conversion. That is not our mission. We have been in the education field for many years. No complaints so far.”

Converting Hindus in exchange for food, economic support, and medical assistance has been an old strategy of Christian missionaries in India. The argument of the school’s lawyer also underlined the so-called welfare agenda of the institute as he said “The girl was more attracted to the institution than her home. She generally does not go home for a short vacation. Due to lockdown, she had to go home. We tendered her fees and medicine whenever needed.”

After hearing all these arguments, Justice Swaminathan has kept the order reserved.

NCPCR says Tamil Nadu govt not cooperating in probe of M Lavanya suicide case, Chairperson-led team to visit the state for inquiry

OpIndia Staff
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NCPCR says Tamil Nadu govt not cooperating in probe of M Lavanya suicide case, Chairperson-led team to visit the state for inquiry

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is sending a team to Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu to probe the suicide of M Lavanya. A press release issued by the NCPCR said that a team headed by Chairperson Priyank Kanongo will visit Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu to inquire into the suicidal death of the minor girl of the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Michaelepatt, as the child rights body has received a complaint regarding the matter.

In a dying declaration recorded on video, the 7-year-old girl student had alleged that her school was pressurising her to convert to Christianity, and had tortured her for refusing to leave Hinduism. However, the police and the media are trying to cover up the conversion angle in the case, and they are trying to allege that the girl killed herself because the school had asked her to do some regular chores.

Therefore, the NCPCR is visiting the spot between 30 and 31 January to ascertain the facts of the case. NCPCR also said that the Tamil Nadu government is not cooperating with it in the case, and therefore the commission will make all arrangements itself for the probe.

The NCPCR statement says, “a complaint was received by the Commission alleging that the minor girl was force to illegal conversion into Christianity and consequent upon opposing this conversion, the girl imposed corporal punishment, refused to go home and made to clean toilets and wash dishes etc., by the school authorities. As a result, the child committed suicide by drinking pesticides, because of atrocities faced by her.”

The NCPCR added that “the Government of Tamil Nadu is reluctant to extend the necessary facilities/support to the NCPCR team for the said inquiry into the incidence on the pretext of imposition of Model Code of Conduct which came into force due to Local Body Ordinary Elections in the State of Tamil Nadu”.

However, the Commission said that it still stands to its proposed visit to Thanjavur District Tamil Nadu for the purpose. The NCPCR will inquire into the incident of suicidal death of a minor girl, for which the concerned Superintendent of Police and Investigating Officer has been asked to ensure their presence, meeting with the parents of deceased girl, interacting with the classmates of the deceased, meeting/interacting with the Doctor who treated the girl before she died and the Doctor who performed Post-mortem of the deceased, meeting with the School authorities and also open to interact with the local populace, willing to interact with the Commission, said the statement issue by the commission.

The Commission said that since the state government is not extending support to the visit of NCPCR, the Commission will arrange the above-mentioned activities at a designated place to be identified on reaching Thanajaur, which shall be made public through NCPCR Social Media platform.

The class 12 student had committed suicide by consuming pesticide after she was allegedly tortured by her school authorities for refusing to convert to Christianity. According to her dying declaration, as she had refused to convert, she was prevented from visiting home during the Pongal holidays, and was forced to do chores like cleaning toilets of the school, cooking and washing dishes.

But instead of probing the allegations made by the girl, the police were trying to question the person who had recorded her statement, after which Madras High Court had ordered the police to focus on the case instead. The girl’s father S Muruganantham had said in the court that the Thanjavur police was trying to protect the perpetrators who had tortured his daughter to convert to Christianity.

Even after the court’s observations, a section of media continues to peddle propaganda to protect the school. The News Minute has published multiple reports questioning the conversion angle and trying to dismiss the dying declaration of the girl.

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