Honour Killing: Dalit IT Engineer Murdered by MBC Youth Over Caste Dispute in Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli- In a tragic incident in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli a 27-year-old Dalit software engineer named Kavin was reportedly hacked to death in broad daylight on July 27 in the Palayankottai area.

The prime suspect, Surjith, a 25-year-old youth from the Most Backward Class (MBC) Maravar community, allegedly surrendered to the Palayankottai police, claiming he killed Kavin for harassing his sister. The victim and the suspect’s sister were schoolmates, and sources indicate that Surjith disapproved of their interactions.

Kavin, a university gold medalist and first-generation graduate, was employed as an IT professional, earning approximately 2 lakhs per month. The incident occurred near a hospital in KTC Nagar, where Kavin had accompanied his mother, Tamizhselvi, a government school teacher, for medical treatment. Eyewitnesses claim that Surjith lured Kavin under the pretext of a conversation before attacking him with a sickle, inflicting fatal injuries to his face, hands, and legs.

The victim, Kavin Selva Ganesh, was a native of Arumugamangalam village in Thoothukudi district. He was employed at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Chennai. Kavin's schoolmate Subashini works as a doctor in a private Siddha clinic in Tirunelveli.

Tamizhselvi in her complaint to the police said that her son was lured by Surjith, who claimed that their parents wanted to meet him. Kavin left the clinic with Surjith on a two-wheeler. Within a few minutes, Surjith shouted at Kavin and asked him how he could fall in love with a girl from a different community. He suddenly took out a sickle that was hidden behind his back and attacked him.

Kavin reportedly died on the spot. Surjith was arrested by the police shortly after the incident. Apart from sections of the BNS related to murder, the case was also filed under sections from SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015.

Tamizhselvi has demanded that legal action also be taken against Subashini's parents for allegedly inciting their son to commit the murder and for threatening her son earlier over the inter-caste relationship. She mentioned that since Surjith's parents were police officials, they should be prevented from influencing the investigation process.

In a post on X, author and dalit rights activists Shalin Maria Lawrence criticised the DMK government for not initiating action against the increasing number of honour killings in Tamil Nadu. "Tamilnadu tops in caste based honour killings in India and it's a shame that the DMK does not want to stop it" she wrote.

This incident has sparked outrage among Dalit rights groups, who are calling it a "clear case of caste-based honour killing" and are demanding swift and strict legal action.