CHENNAI:"Amma, four people are hacking me." Those were the last words V. Vijayakumar, a 22-year-old BC youth, screamed over the phone to his mother Vasantha in 2013, moments before he was hacked to death in Tirunelveli after being lured on the promise that his marriage would be arranged with the love of his life.
A poor Anganwadi worker from Salem, Vasantha rushed to the nearest police station after the call went silent. She was directed from one station to another. By the time she reached the right station, her son had already been murdered.
Thirteen years later, on Friday, her testimony was heard by the Justice K N Basha Prevention of Honour Killing Commission during a public hearing organised by NGO Evidence, where families of honour killing victims renewed their demand for a separate law.
Vasantha recalled that Vijayakumar's relationship began over the phone while he was working in Dharmapuri. Though the woman's family initially opposed it, her brother later signed a written undertaking at a police station promising to conduct the marriage within three months. The families even shared a meal, convincing Vijayakumar that they had accepted the relationship.
But after returning home, the woman was allegedly beaten for loving Vijayakumar and attempted suicide after consuming mosquito repellent. Days later, her family asked Vijayakumar to come to Tirunelveli, saying she wanted to meet him.
Ignoring his mother's warnings, he travelled believing the marriage would take place. At the railway station, the woman's brother greeted him with a warm embrace.
"Only later did we realise that the hug was to check whether my son was carrying a knife," Vasantha said. She alleged that Vijayakumar was taken to a nearby house where others were waiting. Moments later, he made his frantic last call to his mother.
"No politician came. No government official even asked about us. We were left to fight alone," she told the commission.
Activists argued that honour killings are no longer confined to inter-caste relationships involving Scheduled Castes, exposing a major gap in the existing legal framework. In Tiruvannamalai, Sudhakar (25), an MBC youth, was allegedly beaten to death after marrying an MBC woman against her family's wishes. In another case in Madurai, Sathishkumar was allegedly run over by his wife's family despite both belonging to the MBC community. Since neither case involved a Scheduled Caste victim, the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act could not be invoked, leaving investigators to rely only on general criminal provisions.
A. Vincentraj alias Kathir, founder of Evidence, said honour killings were driven by multiple social factors.
"These crimes occur not only between Scheduled Castes and non-SCs but also among Backward Classes, Scheduled Tribes and even within the same community. Existing legal provisions are inadequate to address this complexity," he said.
Kathir said family members were often the perpetrators, making investigations difficult as witnesses turned hostile. Between 2017 and 2025, only four of the 59 honour killing cases documented by Evidence resulted in successful prosecution, reinforcing the need for a separate law.
"Honour killings are rooted in caste discrimination, with the overwhelming majority of victims being Dalits or cases involving relationships with Dalits. These cannot be equated with conflicts between two non-Dalits," said Punitha Pandian, former Vice Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for SC/STs.
"The root cause of honour killings is caste pride. If the government is serious about tackling the issue, the law must also address caste organisations and public displays of caste pride, including caste-based memorials attended by government functionaries," he said.