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New Delhi: On Monday (January 24), the Madurai bench of the Madras high court said that the person who recorded the now-viral video of 17-year-old Lavanya, who died by suicide on January 19 in Thanjavur, to hand over his phone, The News Minute reported.
In the video, Lavanya can be heard saying that two years ago, a woman named Raquel Mary had asked her to convert to Christianity, and she and her parents had refused.
Justice G.S. Swaminathan is hearing a plea by Lavanya’s father for CB-CID probe into the case. On Monday, the judge was told by the investigating officer that the video was taken by a man named Muthuvel. Saying that it was necessary to confirm whether the voice in the video was indeed Lavanya’s, the judge said that Muthuvel should appear before the investigating officer.
According to The News Minute, the investigating officer told the court on Monday that 37 witnesses, including school staff, students and a nurse, are to be questioned in the case, of whom 14 have already been questioned. To determine the veracity of the video, the court was told, the police need the device in question. In response, the court asked the person in question to submit the phone.
The court has directed the investigating officer to file a report by January 27 on the authenticity of the video after the forensic test. The case will be heard again on January 28, The News Minute reported.