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After five days of protest and a standoff with authorities, the family of 27-year-old Kavin Selvaganesh received his body on August 1. Kavin, a Dalit man, was brutally hacked to death on July 27, allegedly for his relationship with a woman from the dominant Maravar caste. Kavin was an IT employee based in Chennai and was killed in broad daylight at KTC Nagar in Tirunelveli.
Kavin’s body was handed over to his father, Chandra Sekar, at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital after the post-mortem. Minister KN Nehru, District Collector Sukumar and other officials paid their respects before the mortal remains and were sent to Kavin’s native town for final rites.
According to preliminary investigation by the police, Kavin was in a relationship with a woman named Subhasini, which her family reportedly opposed due to caste differences. The accused, Subhasini’s brother Surjith, allegedly murdered Kavin over this relationship. Surjith’s parents Saravanan and Krishnakumari, both serving sub-inspectors in the police force, were taken in for questioning and suspended.
Kavin’s father, Chandra Sekar, has alleged that the murder was premeditated and that Surjith’s parents played a role in it. While Surjith was initially arrested and later detained under the Goondas Act, which allows preventive detention without bail, the family continues to demand the arrest of both his parents.
The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), which arrested Surjith’s father Saravanan on July 30.
The following day, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief and MP Thol Thirumavalavan visited Kavin’s family to offer his condolences. Addressing a protest in Tirunelveli organised by VCK, he called for a High Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the murder. He also demanded Rs 1 crore as solatium and police protection for the family.
Thirumavalavan further questioned the delay in arresting Surjith’s mother, Krishnakumari, despite her being named in the FIR. Sources told TNM that the MP persuaded Kavin’s family to receive the body.
It has to be noted that the victim's family was reluctant to receive Kavin's body without the arrest of both of Surjith's parents.
Kavin belonged to the Scheduled Caste Devendra Kula Vellalar community, while Subhasini’s family belongs to the dominant Thevar community’s Maravar sub-caste, categorised as a Denotified Community (DNC) in the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi regions.