Indian IT worker murdered in suspected caste-motivated ‘honour killing'
Kavin Selva Ganesh, 27, was allegedly hacked to death by his partner's brother in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, local media reported.
Ganesh had visited his partner, identified by police as Subhashini, at her traditional medicine clinic in Tirunelveli town to consult about his grandfather's health.
Subhashini's brother, S Surjit, allegedly lured him outside and on to a secluded stretch around 200 metres from the clinic, and attacked him with a sickle.
'He threw chilli powder on Kavin's face after which he started running,' the victim's mother, S Tamilselvi, said in her complaint to police, according to Deccan Herald. 'But Surjith chased him and hacked him to death.'
Ganesh, who worked for the multinational IT company Tata Consultancy Services in the state capital of Chennai, belonged to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community, a historically marginalised group under the rigid Hindu caste system. The community is listed among the Scheduled Castes in the Indian government's classification. Subhashini is from the Maravar community, a socially dominant caste in Tamil Nadu that falls under the 'Most Backward Classes' category, denoting a higher status in the caste hierarchy than 'Scheduled Castes'.
Although both groups are officially considered socially and economically disadvantaged, the Maravar community holds more local influence and status.
The couple's relationship had reportedly drawn disapproval and repeated threats from Subhashini's family members who opposed it out of caste pride.
'The victim and the accused's sister were schoolmates and had known each other for a long time,' an unnamed local police officer told Hindustan Times. 'The woman's family had objected to their relationship.'
Subhashini's father S Saravanan and her mother Krishnakumari are both serving police inspectors, according to The Hindu.
Tamilselvi also said in her complaint that Subhashini's family had given multiple threats to her son in the past. The Times of India reported that Subhashini's family had previously approached local police to warn Ganesh off but no formal action was taken.
Surjit was arrested after he surrendered on Monday. He was charged along with his parents under relevant sections of the criminal code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
Saravanan and Krishnakumari are reportedly absconding.
Terming his son's murder a ' caste killing', Ganesh's father alleged that it was instigated by Subhashini's parents. 'The woman asked my son to come to the hospital. The accused took my son out, threw chilli powder on his face and pulled out a machete to kill him,' Chandrashekar told Hindustan Times.
'The government should immediately expel his mother and father from service. We will protest and not take my son's body unless action is taken against them.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Gunmen behind Kashmir terror attack killed in raid, says India
The gunmen behind a massacre in Kashmir in April that sparked a four-day war between India and Pakistan were killed in a raid on Monday, Delhi has said. Amit Shah, India's home affairs minister, told parliament that three 'terrorists' were eliminated in a joint police-army operation near the disputed city of Srinagar. He claimed the attackers were Pakistani nationals – a charge Islamabad denies – and said their identities were confirmed through forensic and ballistic tests. 'I want to inform the House about the elimination of three terrorists in a joint operation by the Indian Army, CRPF [Central Reserve Police Force], and Jammu and Kashmir Police in Dachigam, Kashmir, yesterday,' Mr Shah told MPs. He named the three as Suleman, Hamza Afghani and Zibran and said they were involved in the killing of 'our innocent civilians in Baisaran Valley' near Pahalgam. 'We had ensured that the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack could not flee to Pakistan,' Mr Shah said, claiming that two of them were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a UN-designated Islamist terrorist organisation based in Pakistan. India's opposition leaders have accused the government of 'severe security lapses' and questioned why it has taken this much time to catch the attackers. On April 22, 26 people were killed when gunmen emerged from the forests near Pahalgam and opened fire with automatic weapons. Most of the dead were Hindu tourists, with one from Nepal. Survivors said the attackers separated the men from the women and children, and ordered some of the men to recite the Muslim declaration of faith. A group calling itself The Resistance Front (TRF) initially claimed responsibility, before later retracting its statement. Earlier this month, the US designated the TRF as a 'front and proxy' for LeT. India said Pakistan had supported the attackers, an accusation Islamabad refuted. The massacre sparked a short conflict between the nuclear-armed states. Between May 7 and a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10, both sides fired missiles and drones into each other's territories, killing more than 70 people. Pakistan claimed it shot down six Indian warplanes including three French-made Rafale jets, which India has not yet confirmed.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Indian IT worker murdered in suspected caste-motivated ‘honour killing'
A young IT professional was murdered in a suspected caste -motivated ' honour killing ' in India on Sunday evening. Kavin Selva Ganesh, 27, was allegedly hacked to death by his partner's brother in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, local media reported. Ganesh had visited his partner, identified by police as Subhashini, at her traditional medicine clinic in Tirunelveli town to consult about his grandfather's health. Subhashini's brother, S Surjit, allegedly lured him outside and on to a secluded stretch around 200 metres from the clinic, and attacked him with a sickle. 'He threw chilli powder on Kavin's face after which he started running,' the victim's mother, S Tamilselvi, said in her complaint to police, according to Deccan Herald. 'But Surjith chased him and hacked him to death.' Ganesh, who worked for the multinational IT company Tata Consultancy Services in the state capital of Chennai, belonged to the Devendra Kula Vellalar community, a historically marginalised group under the rigid Hindu caste system. The community is listed among the Scheduled Castes in the Indian government's classification. Subhashini is from the Maravar community, a socially dominant caste in Tamil Nadu that falls under the 'Most Backward Classes' category, denoting a higher status in the caste hierarchy than 'Scheduled Castes'. Although both groups are officially considered socially and economically disadvantaged, the Maravar community holds more local influence and status. The couple's relationship had reportedly drawn disapproval and repeated threats from Subhashini's family members who opposed it out of caste pride. 'The victim and the accused's sister were schoolmates and had known each other for a long time,' an unnamed local police officer told Hindustan Times. 'The woman's family had objected to their relationship.' Subhashini's father S Saravanan and her mother Krishnakumari are both serving police inspectors, according to The Hindu. Tamilselvi also said in her complaint that Subhashini's family had given multiple threats to her son in the past. The Times of India reported that Subhashini's family had previously approached local police to warn Ganesh off but no formal action was taken. Surjit was arrested after he surrendered on Monday. He was charged along with his parents under relevant sections of the criminal code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. Saravanan and Krishnakumari are reportedly absconding. Terming his son's murder a ' caste killing', Ganesh's father alleged that it was instigated by Subhashini's parents. 'The woman asked my son to come to the hospital. The accused took my son out, threw chilli powder on his face and pulled out a machete to kill him,' Chandrashekar told Hindustan Times. 'The government should immediately expel his mother and father from service. We will protest and not take my son's body unless action is taken against them.'
ITV News
3 days ago
- ITV News
Mother of Air India crash victim from Kent ‘heartbroken' after remains wrongly identified
The mother of a British Air India crash victim from Kent has said her family is 'heartbroken' after receiving news the remains of her son were wrongly identified, The Sunday Times reported. Bound for Gatwick Airport, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, crashed into a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport on June 12, killing 241 people on board. Some 169 Indian passengers and 52 British nationals were killed, making it one of the deadliest plane crashes in terms of the number of British fatalities. Among the British victims were Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband Jamie, 45, from Ramsgate who had been returning to Britain after celebrating their wedding anniversary in India. Mr Greenlaw-Meek's mother, Amanda Donaghey, told The Sunday Times she flew to India after the crash in order to find her son's remains, providing a DNA sample at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital to assist the identification process. Following a match on June 20 last year, she returned to the UK with Mr Greenlaw-Meek's coffin. But on July 5, as Mr Greenlaw-Meek and his husband's families prepared to bury the married couple together, police told Ms Donaghey that DNA tests carried out in the UK showed Mr Greenlaw-Meek's remains were not in the coffin. 'We don't know what poor person is in that casket,' she told The Sunday Times. 'I had my doubts but to be told that was heartbreaking. 'This is an appalling thing to have happened,' she added. 'And we would now like the British Government to do everything in its power to find out, and bring Fiongal home.' Fiongal and Jamie ran a wellness business in Ramsgate, and Fiongal has previously made appearances on ITV's This Morning to showcase their wellness brand. It was revealed last week the coffin of another repatriated British victim, 71-year-old Shobhana Patel, contained remains of multiple people, The Sunday Times reported. Mrs Patel was killed alongside her husband Ashok, 74, as they returned to the UK from a Hindu religious trip. Their son Miten Patel told The Sunday Times: 'There may have been a mistake done. 'But for religious reasons we need to make sure my mother is my mother and not somebody else's remains. 'Knowing 100% that it is my mum is very important to us.' Shobhana and Ashok Patel were laid to rest last week, The Sunday Times said. International aviation lawyer James Healey-Pratt, whose firm Keystone Law is representing families of victims of the Air India crash, has told Times Radio the identification issues have raised concerns over the total number of victims whose identities may have been misattributed. 'We know that 12 caskets were repatriated from India to the UK,' he said. 'Of those 12, two had been mishandled, misidentified. 'And so if you extrapolate that sample, you're looking at 40 mishandled remains out of 240. 'So that's a very large number, but we simply don't know. 'And to date, the Indian authorities have not been transparent or helpful about that, which is why there was pressure put on by the families to the FCO and the Prime Minister's office. 'And this was actually mentioned in the meeting at Chequers between Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Modi on Thursday. 'So the families are waiting to hear about what actions are really being done in India to provide some degree of assurance.' It is understood no blame is being put on any UK agency for the blunders, Mr Healy-Pratt previously told the PA news agency. The High Commission of India has been contacted for comment.
