After Engineering Student Hacked To Death, 4 Relatives of Wife Arrested

Chennai:  Two days after a 22-year-old engineering student was hacked to death in a daylight attack in Tamil Nadu caught on CCTV camera, four relatives of his wife have been arrested.

V Sankar and his young wife Kausalya were out shopping on a crowded road on Sunday when they were attacked by three men armed with sickles and other sharp weapons.

In CCTV footage, the men are seen repeatedly attacking Sankar till he stops moving. Then they turn on Kausalya and hit her till she falls to the ground.

Sankar, a Dalit, and 19-year-old Kausalya had married eight months ago after meeting in college. Kausalya's family, which belongs to the powerful and dominant Thevar caste, had refused to accept the marriage and had allegedly threatened the couple several times.

Kausalya is being treated for head injuries.  Her father Chinnasamy surrendered yesterday but claimed he had no role in the killing and that he turned himself in because the police were looking for him.

Sankar was cremated last night at his hometown Udumalpet under tight security after protests and clashes.

A large number of people had surrounded the van carrying Sankar's body, refusing to allow the cremation unless the killers were arrested. The police had to use force and reassurances to convince the protesters to let go of the body.

Kausalya is being treated for head injuries.  Her father Chinnasamy surrendered yesterday but claimed he had no role in the killing and that he turned himself in because the police were looking for him.

Sankar was cremated last night at his hometown Udumalpet under tight security after protests and clashes.

A large number of people had surrounded the van carrying Sankar's body, refusing to allow the cremation unless the killers were arrested. The police had to use force and reassurances to convince the protesters to let go of the body.

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Tamil Nadu honour killing: Father-in-law of Dalit victim surrenders

Investigation into a case of suspected honour killing in Tamil Nadu gathered pace on Monday following the surrender of the father-in-law of a Dalit man who was murdered allegedly by his upper-caste in-laws in Tirupur district.

A gang of unidentified men armed with hatchets and sickles rode into Udumalaipettai town in Tirupur district and hacked 22-year-old Shankar to death in broad daylight. He died en route to hospital.

His wife Kausalya – a member of the dominant Thevar caste -- who was with him at the time of the incident, was critically injured and admitted to the ICU later.

In a statement to the police, she blamed her family members for her husband’s death and told the police that she had complained about the threat from her family earlier.

The couple fell in love while studying at an engineering college in Palani and got married around eight months ago. However, the girl’s family tried to take her away even when she told the police that she had married the man of her own free will.

An eyewitness said few people who tried to help the couple were also attacked.

Police said all checkposts in and around Udumalaipettai were alerted for a lookout against the killers.

The incident that triggered widespread condemnation is the latest in a string of caste-related violence in the past year. Two Dalit children were burnt to death in Faridabad, followed by the suicide of PhD scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad. Last week, a Dalit boy drowned in a well in Madhya Pradesh after being denied access to water and a Dalit family was beaten up in Uttar Pradesh for touching a Brahmin man.

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