In a tragic incident suspected to be caste-related, 24-year-old Ramachandran was brutally hacked to death by his father-in-law near Nilakottai in Dindigul district on Sunday.
According to Dindigul Superintendent of Police A Pradeep, Chandran—father of Ramachandran’s wife, Aarthi—has been arrested. Police are investigating whether others were involved in the attack. Aarthi alleged, “Only my father has been arrested, but my entire family was involved in this.”
The couple had married about three months ago despite strong opposition from Aarthi’s family. Aarthi recounted the threats they had faced: “On our wedding day, my brother threatened to kill us both. My father warned me twice before that he would kill my husband.”
On Sunday, Ramachandran left home at 4:10 pm to collect milk but was found dead just twenty minutes later. Police confirmed Chandran attacked him en route.
Ramachandran, originally from Ramanayakkanpatti near Batlagundu, met Aarthi three years ago while working in Ganapathypatti village. They married earlier this year and initially lived in Dindigul before moving to his hometown, where threats from Aarthi’s father persisted.
V Viswabalan of the Communist Party of India, who protested alongside Aarthi, criticized the limited arrests: “Only the father was arrested, though Aarthi named her mother, brother, and uncles as well.” He condemned the killing as a caste atrocity and urged the government to provide Rs 50 lakh compensation and a job for Aarthi. He also called for a special law to combat caste-based killings.
