It is a pathetic state of affairs that a 17-year old girl had to end her life by consuming poison after she was allegedly subjected to severe humiliation and mental torture by a teacher at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Thirukattupalli near Thanjavur.
M Lavanya committed suicide by consuming poison after the school mounted pressure to convert to Christianity to continue her studies. The 12th standard student has been living at the St. Michael’s Girls Hostel near her school for the past five years after her mother died eight years ago. The Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School is a government-aided Christian school
According to media reports, M Lavanya committed suicide by consuming poison after the school mounted pressure to convert to Christianity to continue her studies. The 12th standard student has been living at the St. Michael’s Girls Hostel near her school for the past five years after her mother died eight years ago. The Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School is a government-aided Christian school located in Thirukattupalli, Thanjavur district.
According to The Commune, the school had allegedly forced Lavanya to convert to Christianity saying that she has to change her religion if she wanted to study further. But the girl was not game to embrace Christianity.
So the school authorities started subjecting her mental torture and humiliation by forcing her to do chores like cleaning the toilet, washing dishes, etc. Unable to bear the humiliation, a disheartened Lavanya attempted suicide by consuming pesticides used in gardens.
Lavanya started continuously vomiting from the night of January 9. As her health started deteriorating, the hostel warden took her to a nearby clinic for treatment. As the vomiting continued, the warden of the hostel called her parents and asked them to take her home. When she went back home, Lavanya had not disclosed that she had drunk pesticides.
She was admitted to the Tanjore Government Medical college hospital on January 15. It was found that almost 85% of her lungs were affected. Her kidney too had failed. She was being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
She had disclosed that she consumed poison to the doctor only on January 18. However, the girl died shortly later.
A tweet shows the child’s last few words, where she describes the tortures she was put through in the school.
“My name is Lavanya. 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.”, she says in the video. She also names one Rachael Mary who had allegedly tortured her. On January 17, Lavanya’s relatives gathered in front of the Thirukattupalli police station and protested saying that Lavanya had consumed pesticides as the hostel warden Sagayamary had forced her to convert.
https://twitter.com/abinavvinayak/status/1483812557861568520?s=20
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