TIRUPUR: Close on the heels of the landmark judgment in Udumalaipet Shankar murder case, another love story has had a tragic ending. This time, a couple in Udumalaipet, along with their daughter, committed suicide to avoid backlash of their son’s love for a girl outside their community.
C T Murugan (50) and wife Bagyalakshmi (45) of Marayur near Munnar in Kerala, had two children — Pandiarajan (28) and M Banupriya (21). While the couple lived in Marayur, the children were sent to Uduamalaipet for studies. Pandiarajan continued to stay there after completing his higher education. He fell in love with a local girl, but from a different community.
They had met during at the college, fell in love and wanted to get married. His family, belonging to a backward community in Kerala, was dead against it and had warned him that they would kill themselves if he married the girl. Their community still followed the practice of marrying within the 18 villages under their belt. Doing otherwise would lead to ostracism.
Staying firm, Pandiarajan called his parents and informed that he was going to marry the girl. Dejected over it, on Sunday, Murugan and Bagyalakshmi left Morayur, informing relatives that they would go to Udumalaipet and commit suicide along with their daughter. Soon after, a missing complaint was filed.
Meanwhile Ayyapan, Murugan’s brother, arrived at Uduamalaipet from Mysuru on Sunday. He had received a call from Pandiarajan informing of his decision to marry the girl and that his parents were against it and on Monday, 40 people from Marayur arrived in Udumalaipet. On Tuesday, Murugan was brought to the Udumalai GH. Soon, they found the bodies of Bagyalakshmi and Banupriya near the railway tracks. Pandiarajan is missing since Monday.