Madras High Court said CBI will probe Tamil Nadu class 12 girl's death by suicide. (Representational)
A 17-year-old schoolgirl's death by suicide in Tamil Nadu, allegedly after she was harassed by her hostel warden, will be investigated by the CBI, the Madras High Court ordered today.
The girl, a student of class 12, died days after she took poison at her home in Thanjavur on January 9.
The hostel warden was arrested last week.
In a video that surfaced last week, the teen said she could not study properly because she had been forced to clean rooms, do accounts and other chores by her warden. She feared falling grades, she said.
"I couldn't concentrate on my studies. I took poison as my marks would drop," the girl said, according to the unverified video.
"I had to look after accounts and do all the work," she said.
In a previous video that emerged after her death, she said she was harassed and abused likely because her parents had refused to convert to Christianity.
"Two years ago, they asked me and my parents to convert to Christianity. They said they will take care of my education," the girl said in the video. On a specific question on whether she was targeted for not converting, she says, "Maybe".
The videos were filmed on a mobile phone that has now been sent for a forensic examination.
The videos were handed over to the court, which told the police not to harass the person who recorded her on a mobile phone and instead focus on the investigation.
The police say neither the girl nor her parents had ever alleged conversion earlier, either to the police or a magistrate or in any dying declaration.
The court had ordered a magistrate to record the statement of her parents.
The BJP's Tamil Nadu unit has taken up the case as an example of forced conversions and has demanded action.