A fact finding team set up by Tamil Nadu Child Rights Watch (TNCRW) along with Right to Education Forum – Tamil Nadu, Campaign Against Child Labour – Tamil Nadu and Shout for Freedom said religious conversion angle in the death of Class XII girl in Thanjavur is ‘fabricated and being politicised’.
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The girl was studying in a Christian missionary-run school in Thanjavur district, before she died by suicide recently.
“We enquired with the public and the village panchayat members about the controversy of religious conversion. The total number of students in the school is 677, out of which 272 are Hindus. They said that the school management did not use any words of religious conversion to the students. After inquiry, children used to accompany the Sisters to a Church located inside the Hostel campus out of their own interest. They were not forced to do so,” the fact finding team said.
The team noted that it believes that the hostel environment and home environment must have caused the child to commit suicide.
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School management and hostel management had not addressed the student’s psychological issues with concern and they did not try to solve the same by discussing it with her parents, it added.
Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling State’s health helpline 104 or Chennai-based Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.