TIRUCHY: A Dalit youth and his 17-year-old girlfriend who belonged to the Vanniyar community were found hanging in a thatched shed at a village in Mayiladuthurai on Tuesday in what is suspected to be a case of honour killing.
The Mayiladuthurai police that retrieved the bodies said an initial probe revealed that the youth M Parthiban (19), a mason from Pudupalayam village, was in love with the girl from Sathangudi village. She had completed her Class 12 and was set to join college.
When the girl’s parents came to know of her affair, they asked Parthiban to snap all ties with her. Her father reportedly abused him over his caste status.
On Monday, Parthiban lodged a complaint with the Porayar police against the girl's father and appealed to register a case against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Porayar police then picked up three persons, including the girl's father, late on Monday.
Around 6.30 am on Tuesday, the girl's father lodged a complaint stating his daughter was missing. The police registered a missing person report and launched a search.
Meanwhile, the police received information that Parthiban and the girl were found hanging in a shed near the girl's house. The police sent the bodies to the Tiruvarur Medical College Hospital for autopsy and deployed personnel at the spot to avoid any incident, as the couple belonged to different communities.
Meanwhile, Parthiban's family members lodged a complaint against the girl's father, alleging that Parthiban might have been murdered for his relationship with the girl.
The police registered a case against five persons, including the girl's father.
While the girl's family received her body from the medical college hospital, Parthiban's family has not approached the hospital and has instead demanded the arrest of persons, including the girl's father, responsible.
A heavy posse of police was deployed in the village to prevent the situation from flaring into an incident.