19-year-old Ishwarya, the daughter of Perumal and Roja, a couple from the Most Backward Classes community in the village of Neyiveduthi near Pattukkottai, and Naveen (19), a diploma mechanical engineer from the Scheduled Caste community in the nearby village of Poovalur, were in love and got married on December 31 in Tiruppur. They lived in Palladam.
On the complaint of Ishwarya’s parents, the Palladam police, in violation of the law and against the wishes of Ishwarya, who had turned 18, forcibly separated the couple and sent them to their parents on January 2.
The next day (January 3, 2024), Ishwarya’s body was hurriedly cremated, claiming that she had committed suicide. Based on Naveen’s complaint, Ishwarya’s parents Perumal and Roja were arrested.
Naveen said, “Ishwarya and I have been in love for the past 5 years. Her family did not approve of this love because I am from the Scheduled Caste and Ishwarya is from another community. But we were firm in our love. We recently got married in front of our friends. Somehow, this news leaked to Ishwarya’s family.
So we moved to a different house. However, the Palladam police found the house and took Ishwarya away. They said that Ishwarya’s parents were very angry with me and that I should not come to the police station. However, I went to the police station on a bike. There, Ishwarya’s father took her away. Then I went home. But the next morning I heard that she was dead.”
In this regard, the Tamil Nadu Dalit Liberation Front has demanded that the Tamil Nadu government enact a separate law against honor killings. In a statement issued by the organization’s general secretary Samuel Raj, he said,
“The murder was committed due to caste discrimination, and the victim is a person from the Scheduled Caste. Therefore, a case should be registered under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Palladam police station inspector Murugaiyan has been suspended temporarily. In the case of the honor killing of Vimalabai of Usilampatti, the Madras High Court, in a judgment delivered on April 13, 2016, in a writ petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Dalit Liberation Front, has requested the governments to enact a separate law against honor killings.
Further, the guidelines issued for the protection of inter-caste marriage couples, one of which is that the police station that investigates the inter-caste marriage couple is responsible for the protection of the couple, has been violated by the Palladam police station inspector. This is a contempt of court. The Dalit Liberation Front also demands that appropriate legal action be taken for this.”
It is significant to note that various groups, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and film director Pa. Ranjith, have already been demanding the same.