A 27-year-old Dalit IT professional was allegedly murdered by the family of a woman he was in a relationship with in a suspected case of hate crime in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, police said on Monday, adding that they have detained the 24-year-old accused.
The incident took place on Sunday evening when the victim, Kavin Selva Ganesh, had gone to a clinic in Tirunelveli town to meet his schoolmate and suspected girlfriend, S Subhashini, who worked there as a practitioner of ancient Siddha medicine, to consult her regarding his ailing grandfather’s treatment.
The accused, Surjit, is Subhashini’s brother and son of sub-inspectors — Saravanan and Krishnakumari — who are attached to a battalion in Manimuthar in Tirunelveli .
According to police, Subhashini’s family belongs to the dominant Maravar community in southern Tamil Nadu, while Ganesh belongs to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community — a sub-caste of Dalits. “The victim and the accused’s sister were schoolmates and had known each other for a long time... The woman’s family had objected to their relationship,” said a police officer aware of the matter, requesting anonymity.
On Sunday evening, Subhashini’s brother Surjit met Ganesh outside the clinic, where an argument broke out between the two following which Surjit allegedly hacked Ganesh to death with a sickle. Ganesh’s body was later recovered just 200 metres away from the clinic. The post mortem was completed at the Tirunelveli government hospital on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}On Sunday evening, Subhashini’s brother Surjit met Ganesh outside the clinic, where an argument broke out between the two following which Surjit allegedly hacked Ganesh to death with a sickle. Ganesh’s body was later recovered just 200 metres away from the clinic. The post mortem was completed at the Tirunelveli government hospital on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}In a complaint lodged with police, Ganesh’s mother S Tamilselvi has accused Subhashini’s parents of issuing repeated threats to her son to stop seeing their daughter.
Victim’s father Chandrashekar said: “My son is an innocent person. The woman asked my son to come to the hospital. The accused took my son out, threw chilli powder on his face and pulled out a machete to kill him... The government should immediately expel his mother and father from service. We will protest and not take my son’s body unless action is taken against them.”
Based on the parents’ complaint, Surjit and his parents have been booked under various sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the BNS.
“The prime accused has been arrested. Further Investigations are underway,” said a second police officer.