Tamil Nadu: Dalit man killed by girlfriend’s brother allegedly over inter-caste relationship
The accused’s parents – both police sub-inspectors – have been booked for allegedly inciting the crime and threatening the victim.
A 21-year-old man has been arrested for killing a 27-year-old Dalit software engineer in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, in what the police alleged was a caste crime, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
S Surjith allegedly hacked Kavin Selva Ganesh to death on Sunday. Ganesh, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, was in a relationship with Surjith’s sister, S Subhasini.
Surjith surrendered to the police shortly after attacking Ganesh, according to The Indian Express. His parents, Saravanan and Krishnakumari, are police sub-inspectors.
They were named as co-accused in the first information report and charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The parents have been accused of inciting the crime and making threats to Ganesh in the past.
Ganesh, a resident of Arumugamangalam village in Thoothukudi district, worked at Tata Consultancy Services in Chennai.
On Sunday, he had gone to meet Subhashini at a private clinic in Tirunelveli town, where she works as a consultant. Subhashini belongs to a Most Backward Class community.
Surjith allegedly met Ganesh outside the clinic and told him to come along as his parents wanted to speak with him. Ganesh got on his two-wheeler and left for the Astalakshmi Nagar locality, The Indian Express reported.
A few hours later, his body was found about 200 metres from the clinic, the Hindustan Times reported.
Police said Ganesh and Subhashini had known each other since childhood. They had faced growing hostility from Subhashini’s family. Ganesh’s family told police that they had received repeated threats from her parents, the Hindustan Times reported.
Ganesh’s family has refused to accept his body and is demanding legal action against Surjith’s parents, who they allege were instrumental in the murder.
“They objected to the relationship from the beginning and repeatedly harassed my son,” The Indian Express quoted Ganesh’s mother, S Tamizhselvi, as saying. “Even now, they may use their positions to influence the case.”
