TIRUNELVELI/THOOTHUKUDI: The 25-year-old Dalit man who was hacked to death allegedly by three dominant caste men on Sunday morning was murdered over his relationship with a woman from dominant community, a senior police official in Tirunelveli said. Police said they have arrested two suspects while the third is on the run.
P Muthu Perumal from Puliyankulam village was working as a sales executive at a car showroom in Thoothukudi. According to the complaint lodged by his brother, P Kannan, Perumal was waylaid near Johnson Nagar, Reddiarpatti by three men from Therku Karaseri village, S Esakkipandi, D Muthukrishnan and M Ooikattan, and was brutally hacked to death.
Sources said the suspects had phoned Perumal and asked him to come to Reddiarpatti, which is in Tirunelveli district. Perumal and the woman, believed to be separated from her husband, met each other when they worked together in a petrol bunk. The woman’s brother had threatened Perumal for speaking to his sister, sources said.
“The suspects murdered Perumal due to his relationship with a woman from their community. Moreover, there are pre-existing conflicts between the people of Puliyankulam and Therku Karaseri, which are neighbours,” the Tirunelveli police official said.
Based on Kannan’s complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 341, 294 (b), 302, 506 (2) of IPC as well as Sections 3 (1) (6), 3 (1) (s) and 3 (2) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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