A young inter-caste couple took their own lives in Telangana, allegedly fearing their families would keep them from getting married. The deceased were identified as 23-year-old Munje Kanakaiah and 19-year-old Rachakonda Tara. According to police, they killed themselves on Wednesday in a local school building in Siddipet district’s Lakudaram village in Kondapak mandal.
Both Tara and Kanakaiah belonged to different castes of the OBC community, according to the Kukunoorpally Police SI. Tara was from Chakali caste, while Kanakaiah was from Mudhiraj caste. Tara and Kanakaiah allegedly believed they would not be allowed to marry due to strong opposition from their families and the village over their relationship.
According to early police investigations, Tara and Kanakaiah were schoolmates till Class 10 and had been in love for more than three years. Two years ago, a village kangaroo court attempted to end their relationship after Tara’s family objected to the couple’s partnership. Kanakaiah was made to pay Rs 30,000 and they were told to stay away from each other.
But two would meet in secret to continue their relationship. They feared that they would not be allowed to get married because of their families’ disapproval. Their relationship had also caused a rift between their two castes in the village. But according to police, the families were aware that they were still meeting.
Speaking to TNM, SI Parashuram said, "Both families knew they were continuing their relationship. The couple appears to have believed that their wish to marry each other would not be possible because of the fallout between their families and their caste differences.” He noted that Tara and Kanakaiah took their own lives on Wednesday and police were notified of their deaths on Thursday.
Police have registered a case under CrPC Section 174 (Investigation over Unnatural Deaths). The postmortem was conducted at the local government hospital.