NCPCR member submits report to TN Raj Bhavan and backs Governor Ravi’s allegation of two-finger test on Dikshithar daughters

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Two underage girls from the Chidambaram Dikshithar community in Tamil Nadu have been subjected to the banned two-finger test, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has announced.

The NCPCR, which is under the administrative control of the Union government, made the revelation in a preliminary investigative report prepared by commission member RG Anand.

The commission investigated alleged child marriages practiced in the community and accusations by the state government of subjecting child brides to virginity tests.

The report could further fuel the ongoing feud between the DMK government led by MK Stalin and the Raj Bhavan.

On Monday, May 29, Anand delivered the report to Governor RN Ravi, who initially leveled the charges of the two-finger test and also sought to deny the state’s accusation of underage marriages.

It can be noted, however, that the state government, the DGP of the police and the doctors of the relevant hospital have strongly refuted Ravi’s accusation regarding the two-finger test.

Related: New spat between governor and DMK in Tamil Nadu Governor’s accusations

In an interview with an English newspaper, the governor had alleged that officials from the state welfare department had filed eight bogus child marriage complaints against the Podhu Dikshithars of the Sri Sabhanayakar (Natarajar) Temple in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu.

“There was no such marriage,” the governor quoted the newspaper as saying on May 4.

Ravi also said that the parents were arrested and jailed and their daughters who were studying in classes VI and VII were forcibly taken to hospitals and made to take the two-finger test or the virginity test without any support. scientist.

Subsequently, some of them attempted suicide, he claimed.

Despite strenuous denials from the state administration, police, and concerned doctors, the NCPCR took a suo motu case and panel chairman Priyank Kanoongo tasked Anand with investigating the case.

Anand interviewed Dikshithars, doctors, policemen and underage girls in Chidambaram.

It is believed that Lord Nataraja (Shiva) brought the Dikshitars, a community of Vedic Shaiva Brahmin servants, from Mount Kailash 3,000 years ago. They hold the exclusive right to govern the temple and perform rituals.

Related: NCPCR backs TN governor as doctors, cops refuse two-finger test

Dr. RG Anand, a member of the National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights, met with the governor and presented a copy of the report on their investigation into “forced virginity tests” on underage girls from the Dikshitar community at Chidambaram.@PMOIndia @HMOIndia @NCPCR_ @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/JIjjLtVcfS

— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) May 29, 2023

Governor’s allegation is true: NCPCR report

“Based on the statements of the girls, we found that the two-finger tests were carried out on them. Also, in the medical report, it is mentioned that “the hymen was intact”. We have also attached the girls’ statements and medical reports in the six-page preliminary report,” Anand told South First.

He added that medical tests are not necessary in cases of child marriage.

“But here, underage girls were forced to undergo medical examinations and they were also detained unnecessarily because of their political agenda.”

“We intend to protect children as provided for in the Constitution and no mechanism should harm them. We will not interfere in political developments around the issue. Children are traumatized because of police investigations,” he said.

Related: Is Chidambaram Nataraja Temple a Child Marriage Hub? Why was the report submitted to the Governor?

When asked why the report was submitted to the governor, Anand said the NCPCR had its framework and guidelines to conduct an investigation.

“A whole community and public order issues are involved. Since the allegations are against government officials, we have submitted the preliminary report to the Governor, the Chief Executive of the State, seeking his intervention so that no more children are affected in the future,” he said. he declares.

“We cannot deliver the entire report to the Governor and have only delivered a preliminary six-page report. The Governor said he would require a report from the Chief Secretary and the DGP, take necessary action within his jurisdiction and make efforts to prevent such incidents in the future,” he added.

Anand said a detailed report would be submitted to the NCPCR.

Related: What is a two-finger test? Why did the Supreme Court mention it? Dikshithars refute child marriage accusation

Meanwhile, a series of photos claiming to be the underage Dhikshithar children in wedding costumes have surfaced on social media, with several activists claiming they are evidence of child marriages at the Chidambaram temple.

A child wedding photo circulating on social media (Supplied)

However, denying the accusations of child marriages, the Dikshithars questioned the veracity of the photographs.

Speaking to South First, a member of the Dikshithar community said the photos surfaced last week when reports claimed the children had been subjected to the two-finger test.

“What is the source of these photos, and where and when were they clicked? Why is it spreading now? We were targeted for some reason,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Earlier reports, citing Anand, said the children were not subjected to the virginity test. However, the commissioner later said he was misquoted.

It was later reported that the girls were not subjected to the two-finger test, but had their private parts touched without their consent.

Doctors maintained that the girls were examined appropriately and in the presence of a police officer.

The Supreme Court banned the “unscientific and invasive” two-finger test on October 31, 2022. The Union Department of Health issued Guidelines and Protocols: Medico-Legal Care for Survivors/Victims of Sexual Violence in 2014, which also banned the test.

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