Dalit youth found dead in quarry; family alleges caste killing

Pudukkottai: The family of a 20-year-old dalit youth, found dead in a quarry in Pudukkottai's Thirumalairayapuram area on April 23, has alleged that he was the victim of caste killing linked to his relationship with a girl from a backward caste community.Sources said R Hariharan, an undergraduate student, went missing on April 21. His body was found on April 23 and sent for post-mortem examination at Pudukkottai govt medical college hospital. Based on a complaint filed at Vellanur police station, police initially registered a case of suicide. However, Hariharan's family alleged that he was killed by members of the girl's family. They demanded that the case be altered to murder and a proper investigation conducted. Meanwhile, senior police sources said the case had been altered to ‘abetment to suicide' and that four members of the girl's family had been booked under provisions of the PCR Act. Hariharan's mother Vijayalakshmi told TOI that he went missing on the afternoon of April 21. "He went out at around 1.30 pm. I called him at 3 pm to check on him, only to realise that his phone was waiting for the next 15 minutes. By 3.16 pm, his phone was switched off. He would normally not miss my calls and would never switch off his phone. I then asked my younger son to check the place in our area where he usually plays carrom with his friends, but he could not find him," she said. Vijayalakshmi said there were suspicions of murder due to earlier incidents involving her son and the girl. "In November last year, they attempted to elope. Later, a peace talk was held at Keeranur police station between both families. Even on that day, the girl's family members verbally abused and threatened my son on caste lines. They said that we would ‘face the consequences'. They even wanted to abandon the girl, and it was only after much difficulty that the police managed to convince the family to take her back home. "A few months later, when they were searching for a marriage alliance for the girl, her brother came and threatened my son, saying he would be killed if he created any problem. My son assured them that he would not cause any trouble. After that, there were no issues until April 21. On that day, the girl messaged our neighbour, saying she was going to get married and asked him to pass the message to my son," she said. She also raised doubts about the post-mortem findings. "Relatives who handled the body noticed injuries on his head and legs, but the preliminary post-mortem report mentioned only one injury," she said. Kathir of ‘Evidence' NGO said complaints had been submitted to the DGP, chief secretary and the SC/ST committee regarding the matter. "It must be investigated properly. It appears that the police are arriving at conclusions based on the preliminary post-mortem report. There are several suspicions in this case, especially given the caste-related incidents in the past, such as the November episode," he said. K Muruganandam, executive member of the Neelam organisation, who filed a petition with the SP on Tuesday, said the case should be altered to murder, arrests should be made, and police protection should be provided to the family.