A man from the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu allegedly hacked his mother and son to death on Friday, April 14, purportedly because he was outraged by his son’s marriage to a Dalit woman. The son’s wife has been admitted to hospital with severe injuries. A search is underway for the accused Dhandapani, who is learnt to have fled the spot after the murders. The police have registered a case against him under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Dhandapani hails from the Shanar (also known as Nadar) caste group, which is listed under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Tamil Nadu.
It was around 15 days ago that Dhandapani’s son Subhash (22) got married to Anushya (25), a Paraiyar woman from Jayankondam of Ariyalur district. Subhash, who had apparently met Anushya at a garment factory in Tirupur where he used to work, is learnt to have informed his father about his love for Anushya early on. However, as Dhandapani opposed their match after coming to know Anushya’s caste location, the couple got married without informing the parents.
On the occasion of Tamil New Year on Friday, Subhash brought his wife to his native village of Arunapathy near Uthangarai in Krishnagiri to introduce her to his paternal grandmother Kannamma. Dhandapani, who came to know about the couple’s visit to his village, allegedly ambushed his mother’s house and attacked Subhash, Anushya, and Kannamma with a machete. Subhash and Kannama, who sustained severe injuries in the attack, died on the spot. A critically injured Anushya was rescued by the neighbours, who also alerted the police and the ambulance service. She was first admitted to the Government Hospital in Uthangarai, where she gave a statement regarding the attack to a judge from the Krishnagiri Criminal Court. She was later transferred to the Krishnagiri Government Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
Kathir, the founder-director of Evidence, a Madurai-based organisation fighting for Dalit and tribal rights, told TNM that these murders were a reflection of the state government’s failure. “The state government has not taken any stringent action to prevent such caste killings, which has resulted in the rampant repetition of such incidents,” he said. He also pointed out that while caste killings usually involve the murder of Dalit women and men as well as women from dominant castes, “this was arguably for the first time we are hearing of a man from a non-Dalit community being a victim of caste killing.”
It is to be noted that this is the second such murder to have happened in Krishnagiri district this year. Just last month, 26-year-old C Jagan of Kittampatti, who belonged to the Vanniyar caste, was killed by his father-in-law in broad daylight over his marriage to Saranya (21). Though the couple belonged to the same community, Saranya's father C Sankar was opposed to the match. As Jagan was riding a two-wheeler near the Bengaluru-Krishnagiri National Highway on March 21, three people including Sankar attacked him with a knife, killing him on the spot.