It looks like honour killings would never end in Tamil Nadu as the State government appeared to be not keen on taking any firm action against the perpetrators, said a fact-finding team from Evidence, an NGO here, after visiting Lalgudi in Tiruchi district, where a gang murdered a 25-year-old youth, Illayaraja, who had married a girl from an upper caste.
Unable to digest their marriage, the girl’s brother allegedly planned and committed the murder three days ago.
Speaking to reporters here on Friday, the team members said that Illayaraja had married the 19-year-old girl from the same locality, who was known to him for over three years.
They married in a temple a fortnight ago.
Fearing trouble from the girl’s family, they went to an undisclosed destination. However, the girl’s elder brother, Arunkumar, who was working in Singapore, reached Illayaraja through his mobile phone and expressed his desire to meet them at Tiruchi airport on May 28. Since Illayaraja and Arunkumar had been good friends, he had no hesitation to meet him. When they all met at the airport, Arunkumar suggested Illayaraja to formally visit their home and seek an alliance.
He even sounded that the marriage reception would be conducted in a grand manner. Believing his words,Illayaraja allowed his wife to go to her house.
The next day when his wife told Illayaraja about the situation in her house, little did he realise that he had committed a mistake by allowing her to go with her brother.
Attempts made by Illayaraja to reach Arunkumar failed.
However, after a day, Arunkumar, through a friend of Illayaraja, asked him to come to a location for a discussion.
When Illayaraja, accompanied by his friend Balaji, reached the point on Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway, Arunkumar’s friends beat them up.
When Balaji escaped and complained to the police, a police team rushed to the spot, but they did not find anyone there.
The next day, Illayaraja’s body was found near Sunnambu Kaalvai with his face badly mutilated.
Illayaraja’s sister Suryakala told the visiting team members: “My brother had financially helped Arunkumar and his family on several occasions. The caste did not stand in the way then. In fact, it was the girl who insisted on marrying my brother and she said there would be no problem…I have lost my brother at such a young age and nothing can compensate us.”
Evidence Executive Director A. Kadir said that in the last three years alone, 89 honour killings had been reported in the State.
“I have lost my brother at such a young age and nothing can compensate us”
