MADURAI: A day after the landmark judgment in the Udumalaipet honour killing case, handing death penalty to six persons for murdering a Dalit youth last year in broad daylight, a 23-year-old caste Hindu woman’s father and three persons were arrested for allegedly kidnapping her after she married a Dalit boy, on Tuesday.
The accused were identified as P Selvam (54), father of Suvitha from Pettavaithalai in Tiruchy district, S Vivek (20), C Ramachandran (31) and K Sakthivel (34). The police also booked one Palani.
Suvitha and Dalit youth C Manithaneyam studied together at a private college in Karur. They fell in love and married against their families’ wishes on November 16. Following this, Suvitha’s father Selvam lodged a complaint in Pudukottai and filed a Habeas Corpus Petition at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The couple reached Madurai on Tuesday to answer the court summon.
After appearing before the court, the couple was returning to S Alankulam in a government bus. When the bus reached Navinipatti Vilaku near Melur, Suvitha’s family intercepted it and allegedly kidnapped her after assaulting Manithaneyam. Sources said that based on Manithaneyam’s complaint, the Keelavalavu police registered a case under SC/ST Act and Section 364 of the IPC and alerted other district police. Meanwhile, the Karur police detained the persons, who kidnapped Suvitha and rescued her. Later, all of them were brought to Madurai.
After the kidnapping incident, Suvitha was told to appear before the High Court Bench and the justices ordered to give the present status of the case. When she appeared before the court, she denied the allegations of getting kidnapped by her family members. She mentioned that she went along with her family members willingly without the knowledge of what happened to her husband. She also registered her willingness to stay with Manithaneyam.
The four persons, who were arrested, were later produced before Third Additional District Judge (PCR) R Shanmugasundaram, who ordered to remand them. The couple would appear before the district court on Friday and record their statements.
Habeas corpus
After the girl eloped, the parents had filed a habeas corpus petition. They were returning after the case in the court when their was intercepted and the girl taken away.