In yet another case of suspected honour killing, the Tirunelveli district police on Friday arrested four persons on charges of murdering a Dalit youth who fell in love with a caste Hindu girl.
According to police sources, S. Elango (25) of Periyar Nagar in Erode was invited for a discussion by his girlfriend’s maternal uncle and his former employer Saravanan. When he went to see him in a village near Munnirpallam on August 5, 2011, Saravanan and his associates took Elango to an isolated place and murdered him. The body was thrown into a pond.
Since the victim could not be identified, police disposed of the body after preserving the skull. Elango’s family did not lodge a police complaint since they were under the impression that he had gone to seek his fortunes in the film industry, which was his long-cherished dream.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Tirunelveli Range) V. Varadaraju said a special team formed to re-investigate the case followed specific clues and apprehended Saravanan and his associates Maharajan, Isakki Pandian and Kannan. The accused confessed to having murdered Elango.
“The body was identified by Elango’s brother last week. We will also go for DNA profiling for scientific confirmation. Though the youth was missing for about six months, his parents did not lodge a complaint with the police,” he said.
Giving details of the case, Mr. Varadaraju said Elango was employed in a grocery owned by Saravanan in Tirupur. When Saravanan’s niece P. Selvalakshmi (18) came to the shop on a few occasions, Elango befriended her and the two fell in love.
In a bid to end their relationship, Saravanan closed the shop and returned to his native village U. Pandiapuram in Tirunelveli district along with his family. However, Elango remained in constant touch with the girl. Enraged over this, Saravanan invited Elango to a place near Munnirpallam for talks and took the help of his relatives to murder him.
“Initially, it was a case of suspicious death. We have altered it to murder…the accused persons will also be booked under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989,” he said, adding that the four were produced in a local court and remanded in judicial custody.
A. Kathir, Executive Director of ‘Evidence,’ a human rights organisation, expressed concern over the increasing number of honour killings in Tamil Nadu. He sought suitable compensation to Elango’s family. Enquiry by a fact-finding team revealed that the murder was a clear case of honour killing, Mr. Kathir added.