Kausalya, the wife of Sankar, the 22-year-old Dalit man who was brutally hacked to death in March 2016, says she will continue her struggle until there is a law against caste killings. Her statement comes three days after a court in Tiruppur awarded the death penalty to six accused including her father for the brutal killing of Sankar.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Kausalya said, “I thank everyone who stood by me in this fight for justice. I believe that the death sentence will be a deterrent to attacks on people who oppose caste.”
Kausalya, who has turned activist following the horrifying crime, now regularly speaks on caste violence and the evils of the caste system. “Until there is a law against ‘honour’ killings, my struggle will continue,” she reiterated.
On Tuesday, the lower court convicted eight out of the eleven accused for Sankar’s murder. Kausalya’s mother Annalakshmi, uncle Pandidurai and Prasanna, a relative.
While Kausalya welcomed the verdict, she also expressed fear stating, “The death penalty is not going to be executed immediately, so I am afraid of what they will do in the meantime.”
Following the verdict, social media was flooded with horrifying statements against Kausalya. While many comments questioned her morals and condemned her for welcoming her father’s conviction, others called for physical retribution.
Reacting to the threats, Kausalya said, “On social media several people are acting like they are mentally unstable. They are taking pictures with my brothers and commenting about my morality.”
On March 13, 2016, Sankar, a Dalit man, was hacked to death in broad daylight early last year for marrying 20-year-old Kausalya, who belongs to the Thevar caste, an influential OBC community.
The planned killing took place at Udumalaipettai when the couple had only been married for eight months. Four killers, designated by Kausalya’s father Chinnasamy, set out to kill Sankar.
CCTV footage of the caste killing, showed three men coming on a motorbike and attacking the couple, who was out shopping in Udumalaipettai on that fateful day. Using sickles, they hacked Sankar to death, even as Kausalya resisted their blows. While Sankar succumbed to his injuries, his wife survived the horrific attack, and is the prime witness in the case.
Prior to the murder, Kausalya’s family had already made several attempts to separate the couple, including threats, kidnapping Kausalya and had even offered Rs 10 lakh to Sankar to break up the marriage. But when he refused to take the money and leave Kausalya, the plan was hatched to kill them.