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Tamil Nadu: NCPCR Team To Visit Chidambaram On 24 May To Look Into Governor RN Ravi's Allegation Of 'Two-Finger' Test Being Conducted On Minor Daughters Of Dikshithars
An inquiry has been ordered after Governor RN Ravi's remarks
A team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will visit Chidambaram on 24 May for a direct investigation into allegations made by Governor RN Ravi saying that the 'two-finger' test was conducted on minor daughters of Podhu Dikshithars as part of a probe into complaints received about child marriage.
The Podhu Dikshitar families are hereditary priests of the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram. The temple is not under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department.
The announcement was made on Twitter by RG Anand, who is a member of the NCPCR.
Anand also said that the Commission had received a report from the Tamil Nadu government recently.
Earlier, Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu had said that the two-finger test was not conducted.
In an interview with the Times of India, when asked about skipping the part on 'excellent management of temples' during his address to the Assembly in January this year, Governor Ravi had said "Out of vengeance, government officers of social welfare department lodged eight complaints of child marriage against the podhu dikshithars, that they were marrying their children underage, whereas there were no such marriages.
"Parents were arrested and put behind prisons. And the girls, sixth, seventh standard students, were forcibly taken from home to the hospitals and made to undergo ‘two-finger tests’, virginity tests. Some of them tried to commit suicide.
"I wrote a letter to the chief minister, asking what is this? Now, against the backdrop of all that is happening, you want me to praise the government. Isn’t that too much?"
The NCPCR had taken suo moto cognisance of the matter and instructed the Chief Secretary to conduct an inquiry while ensuring the protection of the victims' identities.
In this test, two fingers are inserted into the vagina by a medical professional to ‘test the laxity of the vagina’ and determine if the hymen is ruptured.
The Supreme Court in 2013 called the test an invasion of privacy and the Health Ministry's guidelines say that the test should not be conducted.
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