Chennai: PMK cadre demand to do quick justice to accused by themselves

Chennai: The murder of a Vanniyar girl by her estranged Dalit boyfriend caused unrest in Vriddachalam near Cuddalore with PMK members blocking traffic and demanding that the arrested accused be handed over to them for “quick justice”. The Vanniyar-dominated PMK cadres hijacking the case and colouring it with casteism is a clear illustration of the tense socio-political relations in Tamil Nadu, contrary to its rulers’ claims that the state is a ‘garden of peace’.

According to sources, Sundaramurthi, a mason, moved from T. Pavalangkudi to Karuveppilankurichi (near Vriddachalam) about six months ago and his daughter S. Thilagavathi (19) was pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Arts (English) at a private college in Erumanur village.

The incident took place 2 days ago, when Sundaramurthi was away from home for work and his wife Kodaji went visiting relatives in Sirkazhi Nagapattinam. Thilagavati was home all alone  and A. Akash (19), a Dalit youth from Periyar village, showed up and got into a row with her to address the fact that she had been ignoring him. She then made it clear to him that she wanted to break all contact. However, he wasn’t willing to listen, so she slapped him in the face. Infuriated by the humiliation, he stabbed her thrice. Subsequently, he fled from the location.  When the injured Thilagavathi called her uncle and explained the situation to him, he arrived at her house and rushed her to a government general hospital in Vriddachalam. However, the doctors declared that she had been brought dead.