The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has directed the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, V Irai Anbu, to investigate the ‘revelations’ made by TN Governor RN Ravi on the alleged two finger virginity tests conducted on underage daughters of priests of the Natarajar temple in Chidambaram. The incident was supposed to have taken place after complaints of child marriage in the temple were raised late last year.
Between September and October 2022, two Deekshitars from the Natarajar temple in Chidambaram in Cuddlore district – Pasupathy (the groom of a child marriage victim), Ganapathy (the father of the child marriage victim), and the secretary of the temple Hemasabesa (father of another child marriage victim) were arrested by the police following complaints of child marriage.
The Cuddalore police claimed at the time to have taken action based on the complaints received from the Social Welfare Department. However, Governor Ravi, in an interview with the Times of India, alleged that the case was falsely lodged out of “vengeance” by Social Welfare Department’s officials. He also claimed that following the arrests, the girl children who were in “sixth, seventh standard” were forcibly taken to the hospital and made to undergo the two finger virginity tests, which have been banned. “Some of them tried to commit suicide,” he added.
Unfortunately for the Governor though, there is no ‘some,’ for only two girls were examined by medical authorities, insist state government sources.
When TNM reached out to the concerned All Women Police Station (AWPS) in Chidambaram, an official who accompanied the victims to the hospital for medical tests clarified, “Two finger tests were not done. Doctors did not perform it on either of the two girls who were sent for medical inspection.” The official also said that one of the girls was sent to the Cuddalore government hospital while the other was sent to the Chidambaram government hospital following their parents’ arrest.
Besides, though the Governor claimed that the child marriages never took place, the Cuddalore police told TNM that the cases were still under investigation and hence no conclusions could be drawn yet.
Furthermore, in July 2022, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) Department also received 14,000 complaints through an Inquiry Committee to which several devotees had made complaints of child marriages conducted in the temple. The Governor highlighted that these incidents happened at the Natarajar temple in Chidambaram, which does not come under the HR&CE Department.
Following the Governor’s allegations, the NCPCR directed Chief Secretary Irai Anbu to inquire into the matter while ensuring that the victims’ identities remain protected. The Commission has also requested a factual action taken report, with relevant documents, before May 11.