The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formally submitted its compliance report and chargesheet to the Supreme Court regarding the death of 17-year-old Lavanya, a student of Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Tanjavur district of Tamil Nadu who died by suicide in 2022.
Sister Sagaya Mary, the 65-year-old warden of St. Michael’s Girls Hostel, has been charged with abetment of suicide of a minor and for child cruelty. In a significant finding, the CBI has also indicted Muthuvel, a VHP leader, and various BJP leaders from Thanjavur, alleging that the parents of the deceased girl, Lavanya, were under their influence following her death.
The chargesheet reveals that these leaders instructed the parents to refuse to receive the victim's body and participate in public demonstrations. However, it states that the allegations pertaining to the attempt of conversion by the convent sisters and teachers could not be established.
The primary accused is Sister Sagaya Mary, who served as the In-charge and Warden of St Michael’s Home for Children (Girls), run by the school, from June 2018 until January 2022. The CBI chargesheet, filed in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Tiruchirappalli, alleges that she abetted the suicide of 17-year-old Lavanya and committed acts of cruelty against the minor. The investigation was transferred to the CBI from the state police by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on January 31, 2022, following concerns about the impartiality of the initial probe.
Lavanya was a class 12 standard student at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Michaelpatti. Born on July 26, 2005, she was a high-achieving student who had topped her school in the Class X exams with a score of 489/500 and aspired to become a doctor.
On the evening of January 9, 2022, she consumed a herbicide named "Agrosone" (Paraquate 24%) in the hostel prayer hall. After battling for her life for ten days, during which she suffered 85% damage to her internal organs, she passed away on January 19, 2022, at the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital.
The CBI investigation concluded that Lavanya was driven to suicide by extreme mental stress and depression caused by the warden. Because Sister Sagaya Mary suffered from poor eyesight and other health issues, she coerced Lavanya into performing administrative and accounting work for the hostel, including maintaining fee collection notes, movement registers, and preparing vouchers for audit.
Lavanya was frequently scolded for mistakes in these records and was refused permission to go home for the Christmas holidays in December 2021, being forced instead to complete audit work in Trichy. This exploitation prevented her from concentrating on her board exam preparations, leading her to feel frustrated and helpless.
The chargesheet states that after Lavanya's death, her father, Murugananandam, and her stepmother, Saranya, fell "under the influence of VHP leader Shri Muthuvel and also some BJP leaders of Thanjavur". These leaders allegedly instructed the parents not to receive Lavanya's body from the mortuary and encouraged them to participate in a demonstration at the Thanjavur bus stand, the chargesheet states.
The CBI found that the state's criminal case against Muthuvel had merit as he circulated videos that revealed the identity of the minor victim. He also propagated a conversion narrative that the investigation ultimately found to be unsupported by evidence.
To resolve the conversion controversy, the CBI conducted a massive audit of the school’s history and records. The agency collected and scrutinized Transfer Certificates (TCs) of all students who had left the school since 2010. The investigation found that none of the students had converted their religion during their time at the institution.
Additionally, the CBI investigated rumours that another student, who had allegedly died by suicide, faced pressure to convert. This was also found to be baseless.
The investigation also revealed that in her formal statements to the police, the Judicial Magistrate, and the Child Welfare Officer, Lavanya consistently focused on the warden's work-related torture and did not mention any attempt at religious conversion. Consequently, the CBI summary explicitly states that the allegation of an attempt at conversion could not be established.
While a 47-second private video recorded by Muthuvel showed Lavanya mentioning that a sister had asked her parents about conversion two years prior, the CBI noted that she did not repeat this allegation in any official capacity. The investigation concluded that in all her videos, she spoke consistently about the work-related torture that was affecting her studies.
The CBI report alleges that after Lavanya's death, her parents were under the influence of VHP and BJP leaders. These leaders reportedly instructed the parents not to receive the victim's body and circulated videos to propagate a conversion narrative that the investigation ultimately found to be unsupported by the evidence.
The investigation uncovered a pattern of exploitation where Lavanya was forced to perform labour such as cleaning hostel rooms, convent premises, and cutting grass. During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, while other students had vacated, Lavanya remained in the hostel and was made the stationery in-charge.
In late 2021, she was publicly humiliated and scolded in front of other students by the warden over missing stationery items. The CBI noted that the warden "willfully neglected the genuine request of Lavanya" to be allowed to focus on her studies, choosing instead to prioritise her accounting work.
Lavanya provided four distinct statements before her death, all of which were consistent regarding the warden's treatment:
January 15, 2022: A statement to the police where she revealed the "torture" and the forced accounting work.
January 16, 2022: A formal dying declaration recorded by Judicial Magistrate No. 1, Thanjavur, where she stated the warden was the "only reason for my present position".
January 18, 2022: A statement to a Child Welfare Officer.
January 19, 2022: A final statement shortly before her death at 3:30 pm.
The CBI has submitted a massive body of evidence, including 141 witnesses and 265 documents. Key material objects listed in the chargesheet include:
The "Agrosone" herbicide bottle was found hidden in the hostel prayer hall.
The victim's student diary (2018-2019).
Four mobile phones containing video recordings of her statements.
Extensive hostel registers, movement notes, and fee collection books used to corroborate the claim that Lavanya was performing administrative tasks for the warden.
The case moved through the judicial system after the victim's father approached the High Court, citing a lack of confidence in the state's investigation after public statements by ministers ruled out the conversion angle prematurely. The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court of India, which, on November 18, 2025, directed the CBI to place the chargesheet on record for adjudication. The resulting Compliance Affidavit was verified at Chennai on January 20, 2026, confirming the agency's findings.