A young couple, whose inter-caste marriage was opposed by their families, was brutally attacked by a hired gang with sickles in full public view in nearby Tirupur district, resulting in the death of the husband. The incident captured in a CCTV camera.
When Shankar (22) and Kausalya (19), hailing from Palani in Dindigul district, were waiting at the Udumalpet bus stand, a group of armed men came on a motorcycle and hacked them with sickles before fleeing, police said.
Police rushed the profusely bleeding couple to the Government Hospital. While Shankar died on the way, Kausalya’s condition is said to be critical, and she is undergoing treatment, they added.
The woman’s father has surrendered in court, say the police. He has denied any role in the attack and claims he turned himself in because the police were looking for him.
In CCTV visuals, they are seen walking and chatting when three men on a bike stop behind them and suddenly attack Sankar with sickles and sharp weapons.
Shankar, a dalit, married Kausalya eight months ago, despite opposition from her parents.
Special teams have been formed to track the three assailants. They are equipped with photographs of the three fleeing from the spot, taken by the public. Police said Kausalya and Shankar had met at a private engineering college in Pollachi where they were second and fourth year students respectively.
“The couple had faced death threats from Kausalya’s family from the day they got married,” Shankar’s father Velusamy, a daily wage worker, alleged.
Velusamy said, “We thought her parents would accept them but it has ended in this bloody tragedy. We have lost him”.
His brother Vignesh added: “Campus interviews were supposed to take place soon after and he would’ve gotten a job.”
So far four people have been arrested in connection with the case and an investigation is on to nab the remaining culprits.
This is the third incident of this kind in Tamil Nadu in the last five years.
