The brother of Gokulraj, the Dalit youth who was brutally murdered in Tamil Nadu, has condemned the grant of parole to Yuvaraj—the primary accused in the case—currently serving a life sentence. In a video statement released on Thursday, March 20, Gokularaj’s brother Kalaichelven asked, “People are asking, ‘Why are you objecting to Yuvaraj’s parole? It’s just for one day.’ But can Gokulraj come back to us for even a single day? For one hour? For a single second?”
Despite his brutal crime, Yuvaraj was felicitated during his one-day parole earlier this month, with Gounder supporters flocking to garland him and welcome him with cheers. Yuvaraj, who had obtained parole to attend a family function, was even allowed to address his supporters, apologising for “not being able to spend time with them,” Deccan Herald reported.
Yuvaraj is from the Other Backward Class (OBC) Gounder community, which wields significant political influence, particularly in western Tamil Nadu. He abducted and brutally murdered Gokulraj in June 2015, beheading the 21-year-old Dalit man for his alleged romantic relationship with Swathi, a Gounder woman, at the Ardhanadheeswarar temple in Tiruchengode.
Yuvaraj is also the president of the Dheeran Chinnamalai Peravai—a Gounder caste pride outfit that prevents inter-caste marriages. Yuvaraj and nine others were convicted by a Madurai special court in 2022. After the convicts challenged their sentences, the Madras High Court upheld the Madurai court’s verdict in 2023.
An angry Kalaichelven further asked in his March 20 statement whether Dalits are not allowed to feel love. “You so unjustly murdered that young boy who grew up with only one parent—his mother—in the Ardhanadheeswarar temple. Will even that deity spare you? Are you the only people who are capable of feeling love? Are we not humans too, who also feel love? How are we lesser to you?” he questioned.
Kalaichelvan also referred to ‘nadagal kathal’ or ‘drama love’—a false caste supremacist narrative that claims Dalit men ‘lure’ dominant caste women into marrying them. “What do you mean by nadagal kathal? Do all of you think you’re that good-looking? In what way are any of us lesser? Do you think we don’t have education, intelligence or wealth that we have to try and take these from you through ‘nadaga kathal’?” he asked.
Further, Kalaichelvan recalled the death of Tiruchengode Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishnupriya, alleging that Yuvaraj and the others had killed her too.
Vishnupriya had been the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case until her death in September 2015. The CBI ruled the death a suicide in 2019, but the family had expressed their dissatisfaction with the investigation at the time. In the weeks following her death, an audio clip had surfaced, purportedly of a call between Vishnupriya and Yuvaraj who was absconding then. In the clip, the woman alleged to be Vishnupriya can be heard saying she is under “immense pressure” due to the case.
In his statement, Kalaichelvan also said, “There are many good people in his [Yuvaraj’s] community [Gounders]. Many of whom we have a good relationship with. Many of them are fair-minded people who have fought for us. None of these people would support Yuvaraj.”
Neither Yuvaraj’s release on parole nor the questionable welcome he received was criticised by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), nor the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The DMK’s ally, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), did, however, speak out. Party president and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan asked, “A murderer is released on parole and this society celebrates him. Shouldn’t you be ashamed? Is the murderer a hero?”
Such celebrations of Yuvaraj are not limited to the welcome he received during his parole. In 2022, Swathi–considered the ‘star witness’ at one point before turning hostile—was set to appear before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
TMN investigated at the time how Gounder-run fan accounts for Yuvaraj on social media platforms valourised him, celebrated the violent murder he had committed, and projected him along the lines of a Tamil movie hero, in the weeks ahead of the hearing.
