TN: Inter-caste couple murdered by woman’s relatives, two held

A young couple was hacked to death on June 13 by the woman’s relatives in Thulukkaveli village of Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.

The deceased, 23 year old Saranya and her 28 year old husband Mohan were working as nurses in the same hospital. Initially friends, they soon became lovers and wanted to get married.

However, Saranya’s family, especially her 31-year-old brother, Sakthivel, opposed the proposal. Saranya belonged to the Paraiyar community, which comes under Scheduled Castes (SC) while Mohan belonged to the Sengunthar Mudhaliyar community, which falls under the Backward Classes (BC) category in Tamil Nadu.

According to the police, Sakthivel wanted his sister to marry 24-year-old Ranjith who is the brother of Sakthivel’s wife.

Nonetheless, Saranya went ahead and married Mohan despite Sakthivel’s disapproval.  

On Monday, five days after the couple got married, Sakthivel and Ranjith met them in a bank. During their conversation, the brother invited the newlywed for a patch-up dinner. Delighted, the couple accepted the invitation.

The same night, the couple arrived for dinner. After finishing the dinner, when the couple was about to head out, Sakthivel and Ranjith attacked them with sharp objects from behind.

The couple suffered grievous injuries and died on the spot.

An autopsy was conducted at the Kumbakonam Government Hospital. Sakthivel and Ranjith were arrested and booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).