Honor killing: Dalit youth murdered for marrying an upper caste girl, five arrested
According to Pallikaranai police station, deceased Mr. Praveen alias Ashiq was a bike mechanic. Praveen and D. Sharmila (20) of Jalladianpet were in a relationship since school days.
Published on: 27 Feb 2024, 1:22 pm
Chennai: In Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, a Dalit youth was murdered last Saturday night for marrying a girl from a higher caste than him. The girl’s elder brother along with his four other associates carried out the incident. Police have so far arrested five people in the honor killing case.
According to Pallikaranai police station, the deceased, G Praveen alias Aashiq, was a bike mechanic who started working with his father Gopi soon after schooling. Praveen and D Sharmila (20) of Jalladianpet were in a relationship since school days. While Praveen belonged to the Scheduled Caste Adi Dravidian community, Sharmila belonged to the Yadav community, another backward caste. The couple got married last October despite opposition from their parents.
According to the city police, around 9 pm on Saturday night, when Praveen had gone out to buy dinner for his family, he received a call from a friend, Shriram, who asked him to come to a bar. There, he was surrounded by a gang who allegedly stabbed him with knives. When he fell down drenched in blood, the accused fled from the spot. A passerby informed the police and rushed Praveen to Chromepet Government Hospital] where he was declared brought dead. Pallikaranai police recovered his body and sent it for postmortem. Later the body was handed over to his family.
Who gave my brother the right to kill my husband?
According to local media reports, the main accused (Sharmila’s brother) D Dinesh (23), N Sriram (18), S Vishnu Raj (25), R Stephen Kumar (24), and B Jothi Lingam (25), residents of Jalladianpet, have been arrested by Tambaram Police. Arrested by a special team. Sharmila’s family had been threatening the couple since the marriage. Her parents had filed a case against Praveen accusing him of kidnapping and when the couple went to the police station to clarify that they had a consensual marriage, his brother threatened to kill them. However, a senior police officer said that the deceased was also accused of murder of a ganja smuggler in 2022 and the aspect that the murder was carried out in retaliation could not be ruled out as the three accused were associates of the slain smuggler.
A police source said that Sriram, who was close to Praveen and knew his whereabouts, had informed the gang and helped them in the murder. “We are yet to confirm when and how Dinesh, Sriram and others came together to hatch the murder conspiracy. An investigation is underway,” said a senior police officer. A case was registered under IPC section 302 (murder) and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. After questioning, all five were sent to judicial custody.
Speaking to media persons at her in-laws’ house in Pallikaranai, Sharmila said, “Since caste was a problem for my family, we eloped and got married five months ago. At that time in the police station, my elder brother Dinesh had threatened to kill both of us or only Praveen.
“Who is he (Dinesh) to interfere in my life. Who gave him the right to kill my husband?” a grief-stricken Sharmila asked. Reiterating that Sharmila’s family had threatened to kill Praveen at the time of their wedding, the deceased’s uncle Kavirasu told TNIE, “Two months ago, they (Sharmila’s family) came to Praveen’s house. had come and created a ruckus. Moreover, when Praveen went to drop Sharmila to college, his father and brother threatened the couple. Praveen’s father Gopi is still traumatized by his son’s death and blames the caste system and the killers. She can be heard cursing. Near the mortuary, she is heard repeatedly saying, “My son had gone to buy dinner and has not returned yet.”
