Thirty-two ABVP functionaries, including national general secretary Nidhi Tripathi, have been sent to 14-day judicial custody for picketing the residence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin demanding “justice” for the 17-year-old girl who died by suicide in Thanjavur last month.
The functionaries were detained on Monday afternoon after they arrived outside Stalin’s residence on the Chitaranjan Salai in upscale Alwarpet and attempted to hold a protest. They were bundled into police jeeps and were formally arrested on Tuesday morning following which they were sent to 14-day judicial custody.
The arrested include Tripathi, general secretary of ABVP the BJP’s student wing, and her colleagues. Their protest outside the residence of the Chief Minister came on the day the Supreme Court allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its probe, on a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government opposing the move.
Police said that 35 functionaries were detained on Monday, but three were let off as they were minors. ABVP and BJP condemned the arrest of Tripathi and 31 others.
“DMK Govt. of Tamil Nadu used police to arrest the National Gen. Secy. Nidhi Tripathi & other Karyakartas for demanding #JusticeForLavanya in Chennai. We condemn this attempt by DMK led Govt., You can't suppress our voice by using police. We will fight till Lavanya gets justice,” the ABVP said.
The 17-year-old girl, who was studying at the Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti in Thanjavur district, consumed poison on January 9 and died 10 days later at a hospital. While the BJP alleged that the girl died by suicide due to attempts to convert her to Christianity, the state police refuted the claim.
The father of the girl filed the petition in the Madurai Bench on January 21 seeking a CB-CID probe but he changed his opinion and sought a probe by CBI during the last hearing on January 28. Accepting his plea, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court transferred the case to CBI on January 31.
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