Saraswathy death: Two arrested for abetment of suicide in Tamil Nadu

TIRUPUR: Two of the seven accused in the Kangeyam Saraswathy suicide case were arrested on Friday.

In the first week of February, a Dalit family – one Devi, her husband Sakthivel (45), daughter Malarvizhi (19) and son Satheesh Kumar (18) , – were asked to fall at everyone’s feet at a village meeting to apologise for their goat grazing into their Caste Hindu neighbour Saraswathy’s farm. They filed a complaint at Kangeyam Police station against Saraswathyand some others. A case was filed under SC/ST Prevention Act on all five accused. They had taken anticipatory bail.

Four men instigated Devi’s family to demand money from Saraswathy. They demanded Rs 10 lakh from Saraswathy last Saturday, and abused her when she told them she did not have that kind of money.

Saraswathy hung self at her house last Saturday. Her body was found on Sunday morning. Saraswathy’s daughter K Tamilselvi filed a complaint against three members of Devi’s family and their neighbours, who were allegedly responsible for the incident.

“The four men – Prem Kumar, Prawin, Kavin and  Moorthy alias Easwara Moorthy – had instigated Devi’s family to demand money. They demanded Rs 10 lakh money from Saraswathy and she said that she did not have so much money, they scolded her badly. We have evidence for this. Some of Devi’s relatives had seen the incident. Now, two have been arrested. We will secure the other five also.”    

According to police sources, a case was filed under section 174 considering it as suicide. Now it was changed to sec 306, abetment of suicide.  In this regard, Prem Kumar and Easwara Moorthy were arrested on Friday.

Began with goats

The Dalit family had filed a case after they were forced to fall at villagers’ feet after their goats got into Saraswathi’s farm.