TENKASI: In a gruesome manifestation of caste hatred, a 45-year-old woman of Palamadai village in Tirunelveli district strangled her daughter to death with the girl’s stole to stop her from marrying a college mate with whom she had an affair. He belongs to a different caste and hence the victim's mother was furious and murdered her daughter.
While the victim, 19-year-old P Aruna, was from MBC (Most Backward Community), the man she loved belong to Backward Community (BC). The Seevalaperi police have booked Arumugakani for murder. According to sources,
“Aruna was studying in a private nursing college in Coimbatore. She was in love with a youth and wanted to marry him. After Aruna told her mother about her love over phone, Arumugakani asked her daughter to come back home to discuss the issue in person. Believing her mother’s words, Aruna came home. But Arumugakani immediately started making arrangements for her marriage with a man from her own caste. Aruna opposed it and was firm on marrying her lover, sources said.
"This led to a quarrel between the two on Tuesday night. As the spat intensified, Arumugakani strangled her daughter with a stole while the latter was asleep and subsequently attempted to end her life. Hearing the commotion, some neighbours rescued them and sent them to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for treatment. Doctors of the hospital, however, declared Aruna dead on arrival. The victim’s father and brother are working in Chennai.”
The Seevalaperi police arrested Arumugakani who is under treatment at the hospital.
No respite
“Tamil Nadu sees an alarming level of ‘honour’ killing incidents among the southern states, so the government must take urgent action in the matter,” said founder-director of the Madurai- based rights organisation ‘Evidence’, Kathir when he met Chief Minister M K Stalin in September this year and submitted a bill titled, 'The Freedom of Marriage and Association and Prohibition of Crimes in the Name of Honour Act 2022.'
"The bill would be the first of its sort in the nation if it is passed in Tamil Nadu," Kathir reportedly said.
According to a report, the so-called, 'honour' killing has claimed the lives of as many as 300 Dalits in Tamil Nadu between 2016 and 2020.