Chennai: Dalit man hacked to death by in-laws due to caste

Two young Indians, a man and a woman, were killed in Tamil Nadu in two separate incidents for marrying outside their caste.

A 25-year-old man suffered a brutal attack by a gang of five in Chennai, as reported by the police. The deceased who was named Praveen had gotten married recently. However, his wife Sharmi belonged to a higher caste in the state. The alleged perpetrators of the crime were led by Dinesh, Sharmi’s own elder brother, who is now facing charges of murder. The attackers also included Dinesh and four other men, came by and, mercilessly hacked Praveen to death at a private bar in Pallikaranai. Despite efforts to save him, Praveen succumbed to the injuries due to the assault after he was taken by the police to Chromepet Government Hospital.

The NewsMinute reported that as per police reports, Praveen and Sharmi chose to marry and officially registered their union in November 2023, even though their families did not approve of their cross-caste relationship. Praveen belonged to the Adi Dravidar community (which is a Scheduled Caste), and Sharmi belonged to the Yadava caste.

On a Saturday evening around 9 pm, at a private bar in Pallikaranai, Sharmi’s brother Dinesh, came by with four friends and confronted Praveen at the place after which a heated argument took place. Thereafter, Dinesh and his associates took out knives that they had brought with them, and brutally attacked Praveen and soon fled the scene after assaulting him.

The Pallikaranai police have initiated legal proceedings by filing a case under the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Five men, including the victim’s brother-in-law, have been so far arrested by the police in connection with the crime on Sunday.

The Quint spoke to the 21 year old Sharmi who is a fourth year college student, who told the outlet, “They brutally murdered my husband. Why? Because he belonged to a lower caste, and they didn’t accept our marriage. Who are they to decide who I can marry and who I can’t?”

Similarly, an equally horrifying and tragic event took place earlier this January where a 19-year-old girl was reportedly set on fire by her own family members, including her father, just days after she married her Dalit boyfriend against their wishes. This horrifying event unfolded in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, as revealed by the police.

The victim, Aishwarya, and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Naveen, had known each other since their childhood and had been friends for many years. Both of them had even worked together in Tiruppur where Naveen, a mechanical engineer, secured employment at a hosiery unit in Avarapalayam, Tiruppur, while Aishwarya initially worked at a textile mill in Palladam. Eventually, she joined Naveen at the same firm and became colleagues. Both saw strong opposition from Aishwarya’s family. However, the couple with help from their friends, secretly got married on December 31, 2023, at a temple in Avarapalayam after which, they relocated to a leased residence in Veerapandi, situated in Theni district.

However, on January 2, just days following her marriage to Naveen, Aishwarya was burned alive by her family and succumbed to her injuries. Her husband launched a police complaint following which her father was arrested along with four of his relatives.

Courtesy : Sabrang India

Note: This news piece was originally published in sabrangindia.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Right