The Erode police on Sunday, 15 November, arrested a man named Suriya from the Nadar community, for the alleged murder of a Dalit couple, 55-year-old Ramasamy and 48-year-old Arukkani, in the wee hours of Saturday. Suriya, a youth from Kodumudi, allegedly hacked the couple to death after they chastised him for making sexual remarks and harassing their 32-year-old daughter.
According to the Erode police, the incident of harassment took place on Friday night.
Suriya and some of his friends were bursting crackers when the victims’ daughter, son-in-law and grandchild walked past them. Suriya and his friends then allegedly passed sexually loaded remarks about the Dalit woman, drawing the ire of her family.
Ramasamy questioned the Nadar men and this led to a scuffle. Relatives and neighbours of the Dalit family also got involved and the youth were allegedly assaulted. "Following this, Suriya has gone back to his house and told his father what happened. The father however, then instigated and shamed him. He told him that he should ashamed for having got beaten by a Dalit family and egged him on to go take revenge," says an investigating officer.
Chennai Police Co-ordinates With Maharashtra Police to Nab Alleged Culprits
Suriya, then accompanied by some friends, went with sharp objects to Ramasamy's house. At close to 1 am they attacked the couple and hacked them to death. Following the crime, police have arrested Suriya and are still looking for the accomplices. They have booked him for murder and will alter the sections once the inquiry is complete, the investigating officer reveals.
This incident comes just days after a family of three was shot dead in Chennai's Sowcarpet area. Dali Chand (74), his wife Pushpa Bai (70) and the couple’s son Sheetal Chand (42) were murdered on Wednesday and their bodies were found by the couple's daughter Pinki.
Investigations later revealed that the family had been murdered over a marital dispute between Sheetal and his wife Jayamala both of whom are in the process of getting a divorce. Police have alleged that the wives’ husbands, Vikas and Kailash had murdered the family members along with four others.
Three of the accused were nabbed by the Chennai police in Maharashtra’s Solapur district and efforts are underway to find the others.
"As soon as the case was reported, we got hints of a family dispute. Sheetal Chand had already told the police about a matrimonial dispute and the family had said they had received threats. But they couldn't identify who the culprits were. So the investigation was already underway in that matter,"
"We got the vehicle number of the accused and they were traced to Solapur. One inspector and five other police officials from Chennai left to Pune at 6.30 am on Thursday to nab the accused. They coordinated with the Pune police," Chennai Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarrwal explained to the media on Friday. "The accused's vehicle was spotted at Solapur and when the police began to chase them, they started speeding. They were finally intercepted and three persons were arrested. This included Kailash and his two friends, Ravindranath and Vijay," he added.
(Published in an arrangement with The News Minute.)
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