The girl died on January 19 in a case of alleged suicide. In a purported video of the girl which has been doing the rounds, she said that the school where she studied had asked her to convert to Christianity and that she was facing trouble since she refused to comply.
The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Monday ordered the person who filmed the video of a 17-year-old girl talking about forced religious conversion, days before her death, to appear for the investigation and submit the cellphone he had used to shoot the video.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the girl’s father, seeking a CB-CID probe into the incident.
The girl had allegedly consumed poison on January 9 and died 10 days later. In the video, the girl purportedly stated that her school had allegedly asked her to convert to Christianity, and that she had been troubled since then after she turned down the request to convert.
According to the girl’s father, the video was filmed by a person named Muthuvel, and they had no clue about his whereabouts in recent days. Justice G R Swaminathan directed the victim’s parents to appear before the investigation officer to give a statement and ordered Muthuvel, a local VHP functionary, to appear before the probe team by Tuesday morning.
The government counsel submitted that they have added 37 witnesses in the case and have examined 14 of them. In addition, the cellphone used for recording the video was necessary to verify the video’s authenticity. The lawyer said a detailed investigation report will be filed in one week.
The court asked the investigation team to submit the cellphone for forensic analysis and file a report before January 28, the next date of hearing.
While BJP, RSS and VHP functioneries were trying to take up the case as a conversion row, alleging that many schools in Tamil Nadu were being used for forced conversion of people from socially underprivileged sections, the court which heard the case last week said the probe should focus on circumstances that led to her suicide. Even as there was a demand for a second postmortem from certain corners, the court requested the petitioner to receive the body and perform the final rites.
Story continues below this ad
The girl’s parents, who initially refused to accept the body, agreed to do so after the court’s intervention. The father’s petition stated that the hostel warden harassed her by making her clean vessels, toilets, the school campus, and engaging her in cooking food in the hostel without letting her go home on holidays. The petition said the girl died by suicide because of this torture allegedly meted out by the school management after she refused efforts to convert her.
Thanjavur district police have stated that there was no complaint of forcible religious conversion.
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the girl’s death should not be politicised.
He said recording a minor’s video and spreading it online is inappropriate, Poyyamozhi said, “A detailed inquiry is in progress…. Although it is Christian school, the majority of students are Hindus. We have conducted an inquiry with the students and former students and informed the police. The warden, who was arrested, had (earlier) paid the student’s school fee when they had difficulty making the payment. But those who committed the crime will face action.”
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.
Expertise
Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.
Key Coverage Areas:
State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.
Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.
Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.
Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.
His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
4 min read
