Social media has been taken by a storm after netizens started trending the hashtag #JusticeForLavanya on Twitter due to an unfortunate incident in Tamil Nadu. A 17-year-old girl reportedly took her own life after facing “abuse” in her school hostel.
The death of the Class 12 girl in Tamil Nadu has now taken a political turn after her family and opposition party BJP alleged that she took her own life after being pestered by her peers and hostel warden to change her religion and take up Christianity.
After her death, her family alleged that she was being forced to take up Christianity, and had been facing abuse at the hands of the hostel warden for the same, which resulted to take her own life. Due to the nature of her death, netizens immediately started posting #JusticeForLavanya, asking the authorities to take action.
Know why #JusticeForLavanya is trending
The 17-year-old girl, named Lavanya, was a Class 12 student and was staying at the St Michael’s Girls’ Home in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. As per media reports, on January 9, Lavanya was admitted to the hospital after she started vomiting and complained about a stomach ache.
Later, a video shot prior to her being taken to the hospital surfaced. It is unclear who shot the video, but in the clip, Lavanya can be seen narrating the ordeals that she had been facing at her boarding house, which had led to her being disturbed.
She said that she was being constantly scolded by the hostel warden, who was also allegedly making her clean all the rooms in the hostel. She also alleged that she was being forced to change her religion and take up Christianity.
After being transferred to the Tanjore Medical College Hospital, Lavanya regained consciousness and confessed to the doctors that she had tried to take her own life. It is believed that she attempted suicide on January 9 after ingesting pesticides.
The parents of the student filed an FIR on January 15 and Lavanya’s last statement was recorded on video by the Judicial Magistrate. She passed away on January 19 after not responding to treatment, after which her parents again approached the authorities.
What sparked the political outburst?
After the death of Lavanya, members of the Tamil Nadu BJP spoke up about the incident and posted their views on religious conversion in the state. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai also posted a video of the girl giving a statement.
Very sad day to see @tnpoliceoffl losing all its hard earned reputation by its irresponsible statements.
When there is a clear video testimony by the girl of forced conversion, the local police is hell bent on changing the course of the case of Lavanya.#JusticeforLavanya https://t.co/VdgLdldFzw
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) January 20, 2022
After this, the outrage was sparked on social media, where netizens spoke up asking for justice for the young girl. BJP’s youth leader Amar Prasad Reddy also criticized the media for not speaking out against the alleged religious conversion pressure faced by the girl.
Why Media is biased? #JusticeforLavanya pic.twitter.com/x31fDJnp0o
— Amar Prasad Reddy (@amarprasadreddy) January 21, 2022
Investigations about her suicide are still underway, and authorities are also questioning the suspects who allegedly forced Lavanya for religious conversion.
(With inputs from agencies)
