2 taken into custody for murder of Dalit woman

Police said the two persons were taken into custody and were being questioned. However, it was not yet known whether they are the real culprits. Police said the post-mortem report revealed that the woman, a law student, was subjected to rape and was brutally assault using sharp edged weapons before being murdered at her house on April 28. 

She was found dead in a pool of blood at 8 pm that day by her mother when she returned home from work. Her distraught mother is bedridden after the incident.

“Kerala is shocked by the brutal murder of a young woman. The culprits will be brought to book and the severest punishment will be ensured to those who were involved,” Chandy said. 

The brutal murder has shocked the state, with women activists and students taking to the streets, demanding justice for the woman. 

Students and rights activists took out protest marches in various parts of the state condemning the incident. Students of Kerala University at Thiruvanathapuram broke pots, considering it as the symbol of cruelty shown by society towards women, to mark their protest. Protests were also held by Law college students at Ernakulam.

Terming the incident as ‘devilish’, CPI(M) leader and Lok Sabha MP, PK Sreemathi said no other women in the state should be subjected to such cruelty any more. 

“It is one of the most brutal attacks against a woman in the state. It is the same as that had happened to the hapless Nirbhaya in Delhi. It is shocking that the public and media came to know about the incident only five days after the incident,” she told PTI. Sreemathy wondered why Chandy had failed to visit the Dalit woman’s house and console her mother, who is bedridden after the death of her daughter.