NAMAKKAL: It is over a month since Gokulraj, a young Dalit engineer had fallen victim to honour killing perpetrated by a core group of a fanatic, fringe caste outfit ‘Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai.’ Apparently, the police are still groping in the dark over the elusive mastermind behind the murder.
Yuvaraj, the kingpin of the heinous crime committed allegedly to protect the pride of Gounder community, is still on the run. A caste chauvinistic gang led by him abducted Gokulraj as he was spotted with a caste-Hindu girl, believed to be his lover, at the Arthanareeswarar temple atop a hill in Thiruchengode, on June 23.
The following afternoon his mother Chitra got a phone call from the Government Railway Police saying Gokulraj was lying on the railway track at Pallipalayam. Police initially registered a case of suspicious death.
Even as the police claim to have taken ‘all the steps’ to nab the culprits, the engineer’s family members and Dalit organisations accused them of lethargy
“Police are struggling to nab the culprits. We doubt whether they are taking earnest steps to nab him,” a Dalit leader said.
It is alleged that Yuvaraj, facing charges of abduction (Section 363 of IPC), murder (302 IPC) and atrocity against Dalit Sections 3(2) (5) of SC/ST Act), had reached a safe abode, which he was constantly changing. A police official said, “He slips out whenever we come close to his whereabouts.”
He even challenged the police through an audio clipping circulated through WhatsApp. They expected him to surrender before a court somewhere but that too did not happen. The public outcry to entrust the probe to CB-CID has fallen only on deaf ears.