TIRUNELVELI: In a suspected case of ‘honour’ killing, a girl was murdered by her 19-year-old brother in front of their house in Tirunelveli district on Tuesday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Thangathai (20), daughter of Aseer Pandian of Rajavallipuram, a labour contractor.
The accused, Muthu, allegedly murdered his sister as she refused to break her relationship with one of her colleagues, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste (SC). The two were working at a private company in Gangaikondan SIPCOT complex. Sources said Thangathai belonged to an MBC community.
“Her family had persuaded her several times to break her relationship with the colleague. However, she did not budge, and the couple eloped a few days ago. Based on a complaint from Thangathai’s parents, Thalaiyuthu police traced her and sent her back home with her parents on Tuesday morning. Her parents had assured the police that they would not harass her. However, Muthu quarrelled with Thangathai throughout the day, and later killed her in a fit of rage,” the sources said.
Upon information, Thalaiyuthu police rushed to the spot and sent the body to Tirunelveli government medical college for postmortem. Muthu, who allegedly confessed to the crime, was arrested and the machete used for the crime was also seized. Tirunelveli Superintendent of Police Silambarasan told TNIE that an investigation is underway. Sections, including 302 of IPC, have been invoked against Muthu and he is the only suspect in the case, he added.