PUDUKKOTTAI: After a 20-year-old Dalit youth was found dead in a quarry near a forested area in Pudukkottai district, the police have booked four persons — including a woman with whom the youth was allegedly in a relationship — on charges of abetment of suicide and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The deceased was identified as R Hariharan, a resident of Nadupatti in Kulathur taluk in Pudukkottai district. Apart from the 19-year-old woman, the other suspects booked are her father Rajendran, brother Shanmugasundaram, and another individual, Krishnan.
The police said Hariharan was in a relationship with the woman who was from the Hindu caste community. They had allegedly eloped around five months ago to get married. They, however, got separated later due to caste differences after both families were counselled at the Keeranur police station.
Youth’s kin want murder case filed against woman
According to sources, Hariharan went missing on April 21 after receiving a suspected phone call from the woman. His family’s attempts to trace him proved unsuccessful, as his mobile phone remained switched off. On April 23, local residents grazing cattle spotted a body floating in the quarry, which was later identified as Hariharan.
Following a complaint lodged by Hariharan’s father P Rajkumar (50), the Vellanur police initially registered a case under Section 194 of the BNSS, which pertains to suspicious death, on April 24. A postmortem was conducted and the body was handed over to the family on April 27.
Sources said the family was not satisfied with the initial registration of a suspicious death case and insisted that a case of murder be filed against the woman and her relatives. No protests, however, were reported in connection with the incident.
After suspicion arose regarding the possible involvement of the woman and her family members in Hariharan’s death during preliminary inquiry by the police, the FIR was altered on April 25, and police invoked Section 108 of the BNS (abetment of suicide) along with Section 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act against the four suspects. Further investigation is under way, and action will be taken based on evidence, police said.
