Chennai shocker! In suspected honour killing, Dalit youth hacked to death by wife's brother and friends

Chennai: In a suspected case of honour killing, a 26-year-old Dalit youth was murdered for marrying a Hindu girl against the wishes of her family at suburban Pallikaranai and five people, including the girl's brother were arrested in this connection on Sunday.

Police sources said the youth G.Praveen, who worked as a mechanic, fell in love with a final year college student Sharmila (21) and they got married in October last year much against her parent's wishes.

Ms. Sharmila hailed from a Most Backward Class (MBC) community and Praveen from Scheduled Caste.

Angered over the wedding, the girl's brother Dinesh has been waiting to seek revenge. He had recently informed his friends about this recently as his family’s reputation had been ruined.

He and four of his friends – Stephen, Vishnuraj, Sriram, and Jothilingam – planned to murder Praveen.

On Saturday night, when Praveen was returning from a hotel after purchasing dinner, Dinesh called him on the phone and asked him to meet him at a liquor shop nearby, where they murdered Praveen.

The deceased was attacked with lethal weapons and he died on the spot.

Police have filed a case of murder under the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and arrested five suspects on Sunday.

Police pickets were posted in front of the houses of Praveen and Sharmila to prevent any backlash.

Further investigations are on.