CUDDALORE: The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has taken suo moto cognizance of Opindia’s May 4 webpage report on the “forced virginity test” on minor daughters of Lord Nataraja temple priests to defame the priests and has given the Tamil Nadu chief secretary V Irai Anabu seven days to investigate the matter and report on the actions taken.
Commission executive Priyank Kanoongo in a notification to Irai Anbu on May 4 said the commission went over a website page report of Opindia referring to that ‘the legislative leader of Tamil Nadu Ravindra Narayana Ravi uncovered the stunning truth about how minor young ladies had to go through the two-finger test, otherwise called the virginity test, by the state organization with an end goal to slander podhu dikshithars (sanctuary ministers) in an unstable meeting with The Hours of India.’
The hereditary priests and custodians of Chidambaram’s Sri Sabanayagar Temple, also known as the Lord Nataraja Temple, are called Podhu Dhikshithars. “Governor Ravi said, out of vengeance, government officers of the social welfare department filed eight complaints of child marriage against podhu dikshithars that they were marrying their children underage,” stated Kanoongo in the notice. “There were no such marriages.”
According to the chairperson of the commission, parents were detained and imprisoned. Additionally, the sixth- and seventh-grade girls were coercively transported from their homes to hospitals, where they were subjected to two finger and virginity tests. “He (the governor) revealed and stated that he wrote a letter to the chief minister questioning the horrific ordeal,” said the chairperson, adding that the commission took suo moto cognizance under sections 13(l) and (j) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. “Some of them tried to commit suicide,” he (the governor) revealed.
Podhu dikshithars are the genetic ministers and caretakers of Sri Sabanayagar Sanctuary, known as Ruler Nataraja Sanctuary at Chidambaram in the Cuddalore region. ” According to Kanoongo in the notice, “Governor Ravi said that government officers of the social welfare department lodged eight complaints of child marriage against podhu dikshithars that there were marrying their children underage.” However, there were no such marriages.
According to the chairperson of the commission, parents were detained and imprisoned. Additionally, the sixth- and seventh-grade girls were coercively transported from their homes to hospitals, where they were subjected to two-finger and virginity tests. “He (the governor) revealed and stated that he wrote a letter to the chief minister questioning the horrific ordeal,” the chairperson added, adding that the commission took suo moto cognizance under sections 13(l) and (j) of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. “Some of them tried to commit suicide.
The chairperson instructed Irai Anbu to investigate the matter without disclosing the identities of the victims and to submit a factual report to the commission within seven days. In addition, the chairperson instructed Anbu to submit copies of the FIRs filed by the social welfare department regarding child marriages, the status of the actions taken against the parents and the accused, and details on producing minor children to the chief welfare committee and medical officers for examination.
The chairperson instructed Irai Anbu to investigate the matter without disclosing the identities of the victims and to submit a factual report to the commission within seven days. In addition, the chairperson instructed Anbu to submit copies of the FIRs filed by the social welfare department regarding child marriages, the status of the actions taken against the parents and the accused, and details on producing minor children to the chief welfare committee and medical officers for examination.
