A young man was hacked to death allegedly by his wife’s father and uncle, citing ‘pride and honour’ of the family, at Thenkurissi near here on Friday, the Christmas day.
Aneesh, aka Apu, 27, son of Arumughan from Ilamandam, was returning from a shop along with his brother Arun when he was attacked around 6.30 p.m.
The attackers reportedly came on a motorbike, hit Aneesh with an iron rod, and hacked him with a long blade. He suffered wounds on the neck and legs, and died on the way to hospital.
The police arrested Aneesh’s father-in-law Prabhu Kumar and wife’s uncle Suresh in connection with the murder. The police said they were being questioned.
Aneesh, a painting worker from Viswakarma community, had married Haritha, belonging to the Pillai community, three months ago. They were long-time friends and had registered their marriage resisting opposition from Haritha’s family. Aneesh’s father Arumughan and brother Arun said the couple lived under constant threat from Prabhu Kumar and Suresh, who had allegedly threatened to finish him off in three months. They said the police had ignored their complaint against Prabhu Kumar.
V.K. Sreekandan, MP, and Shafi Parambil, MLA, criticised the police for their failure. They said if the police had acted in time on the complaint, the murder could have been prevented. The Kerala State Youth Commission (KSYC) has registered a case and sought a report from the District Police Chief. KSYC chairperson Chintha Jerome said the commission would strive to ensure justice to the widowed woman.
National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations district president K. Karthikeyan demanded strong action against the culprits. He said stringent action was needed to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), demanding stern action to prevent recurrence of honour killings, described the incident as a shame on the civilised Kerala society.