The Central Bureau of Investigation has informed the Supreme Court that it found no evidence of forced religious conversion in the 2022 suicide case of a Class XII student at a Christian missionary school in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu.
The agency submitted its chargesheet and status report to the apex court stating that allegations of attempts to convert 17-year-old Lavanya to Christianity at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, Michaelpatti, “could not be established”. The chargesheet was originally filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thiruchirappalli, in December 2023.
Instead, the CBI determined that Sister Sagaya Mary, the hostel warden, persistently harassed and exploited the student, inflicting severe mental distress that led to her taking her own life. The agency has held the warden culpable for offences under Section 305 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.
According to the investigation, Sister Sagaya Mary forced the student to manage hostel accounts, interfering with her academic commitments. The probe revealed unusual patterns at the hostel after Sister Sagaya Mary assumed charge, with more students leaving and assistant wardens departing their positions regularly.
The student and other hostel inmates were given accounting responsibilities. During the COVID-19 lockdown between 24 March 2020 and 19 June 2020, the girl remained alone in the hostel despite its official closure. After it reopened on 20 January 2021, she received extra duties because assistant wardens were absent. She spent approximately 20 days in the hostel during the second lockdown between 1 April and 14 July 2021.
During Deepavali in 2021, some hostel items disappeared. The warden discovered that the girl had given them to other students without permission and scolded her, causing shame and psychological distress. During the 2021 Christmas holidays, rather than returning home, she remained at the hostel and was given numerous accounting assignments.
The CBI report stated she faced regular pressure to finish hostel accounts rapidly and was rebuked for errors, creating significant mental strain.
On 9 January 2022, after finishing hostel accounts and attending evening prayers, the girl began vomiting and received first aid. She skipped dinner and went to sleep. The following day, the warden contacted her parents and requested they take her home. She kept vomiting and was admitted to a private hospital on 15 January after bringing up blood. Doctors at Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, where she was transferred, suspected poisoning after observing discolouration of her tongue.
During treatment, the girl revealed to doctors she had consumed pesticide on 9 January. In her statements and recorded video, she attributed her action to psychological pressure from relentless workload and demands from the hostel warden. She held Sister Sagaya Mary responsible for her condition. She died on 19 January 2022.
The girl’s death sparked nationwide controversy after Vishwa Hindu Parishad and BJP functionaries claimed she faced pressure to convert to Christianity. Her father initially made similar accusations.
The CBI examined certificates of students who studied at the institution since 2010 during its extensive probe into conversion allegations. It discovered no proof that any student had changed religion after leaving the school, nor did the girl reference any conversion pressure in her video statement.
The investigation found that following her death, the girl’s father and aunt reportedly declined to accept her body and joined protests, allegedly influenced by certain individuals including VHP functionary Muthuvel and local BJP leaders. Videos created by Muthuvel alleging religious conversion circulated on social media without protecting her identity.
The Madras High Court had transferred the investigation to the CBI in 2022, observing that the conversion angle was not improbable. Though the Tamil Nadu government challenged this order, the Supreme Court declined to stay the CBI investigation.
