He had further averred that Muthuvel ( the one who circulated the video) was not cooperating with the investigation and therefore it was getting difficult for them to investigate. "We are not suppressing anything. 53 witnesses have be examined till now. The plea has no averment. They are arguing in air. There is nothing in writing," had said the Prosecutor.
Further, the Court had also ordered the person, who shot the video of the 17-year-old girl alleging forced conversion in the video, to appear for inquiry and submit the device before the Court on 25th January. Background: A girl had committed suicide in Thanjavur last week reportedly because she was forced to undergo religious conversion. The minor girl had consumed poison on January 9 and the police had received the first information from her parents on January 15. As per the FIR, the warden of the hostel, where Lavanya (the deceased girl) was staying, had forced her to do domestic chores on January 9. She allegedly attempted to end her life as she could not bear the cruelty. The girl's condition had worsened on January 15 and she was shifted to the Thanjavur College Hospital. There, she gave her declaration implicating the warden and died on January 19, the police had said. Following the recording of girl's dying statement by the Thanjavur judicial magistrate and the recording of a statement by Thirukattupalli police, the warden of her school, i.e. the missionary school was remanded. Significantly, the girl had also recorded a video and had shared it on social media platforms where she had claimed that a woman named Rachel Mary had coerced her to convert to Christianity, which she and her parents had refused. “...They (school) had asked my parents in my presence if they can convert me to Christianity and help her for further studies. Since I didn’t accept, they kept scolding me,” the viral video of the girl stated in Tamil language. [Case Title: Muruganantham v. The Director-General of Police & Ors.]
