KOTTAYAM: While the court found the Kevin murder case as the first honour killing incident in the state, it was the statement of Kevin’s fiancée Neenu Chacko, which became crucial in the case. Neenu, with a heavy heart, submitted her statement against her brother Syanu Chacko and father Chacko.
However, Neenu, who is in Bengaluru now, abstained from responding to the media when the court pronounced the verdict. Earlier, during the trial, Neenu had told the court that her father said, “You shouldn’t think about living with a man belonging to a lower caste. Both of you will be hacked to death if you go with him.”
In a day-long examination in the court, Neenu fearlessly gave her statement and responded to the questions of the prosecution and defence counsel. Kevin’s cousin Aneesh Sebastian, who was abducted along with Kevin, told the court about caste prejudice of the accused. As per the prosecution, Kevin was murdered only because he belonged to a lower caste. It argued that Syanu and Chacko had opposed Neenu marrying Kevin taking into account the latter’s caste.
The prosecution quoted the telephone conversation between Syanu and Lijo, the second prosecution witness, in which Syanu said Kevin belonged to a lower caste and hence the marriage could not be accepted.
Prosecution also cited a complaint filed by Neenu’s father in the Gandhinagar police station, which had purportedly shown Kevin’s father in a poor light because of his caste.The prosecution also pointed out the Supreme Court’s observations and directions with regard to honour killing incidents in Sakthi Vahini Case (2011) and Arumugam Servai Vs State of Tamil Nadu (2018) case.