5 juveniles were arrested by the police in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district on Saturday in connection with the murder of a cooperative bank employee in a suspected honor killing. The police are on the lookout for 2 more minors who were associated with the crime and are friends with the group.
Shankar, a 32-year-old Vellanguli village resident was killed on Tuesday while taking a bath at the Tamiraparani River. He belonged to the Konar/Yadav community and was in love with a 25-year-old Satyabhama from the Thevar community. The girl’s parents had agreed to their marriage but her younger brother was opposed to it as he was teased by his friends for his support in the marriage. The brother hatched the plan with his four classmates and 2 masons along with an 11th class senior.
It was reported that Shankar tried to escape but they group hacked him to death and returned to their schools while the masons went to work as usual. It was assumed that the death might have been a result of a property dispute between Shankar and his cousins. But when the police picked up Satyabhama’s brother for questioning, he confessed to the crime.
This is the second death resulting from honor killing this month. The first was a similar incident that happened at Hosur for marrying outside the caste. In a shocking revelation, the incident resembles the story out of a recent movie named Kaala directed by Pa Ranjit. However, in the movie, the brothers were unsuccessful in killing the Dalit.
The rise in honor killings across the state has raised concerns all over the country but this was the only incident where juveniles were involved in the incident. Numerous concerns regarding vigilance monitoring committees to be set up at a state and district levels have been raised by protesters but they are either not constituted or dysfunctional
Source – HindustanTimes