Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front has demanded the police to book the murder of a pregnant woman by her husband under the provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In a joint statement, its Virudhunagar district functionaries, Muthukumar and K. Murugan, have said that the deceased Kamali, 24, of L. Mettur, who belonged to Scheduled Caste community, had fallen in love with John Gilbert Premraj, belonging to caste Hindu community, of A. Lakshmiyapuram under Alangulam police station limits near Rajapalayam.
The couple had got married in 2020 and they had a four-year-old daughter and the woman was pregnant.
Meanwhile, the husband, a drunkard, was very irregular to work and was frequently quarrelling with his wife, the statement said.
Kamali had complained to her parents that her mother-in-law, Pavun, was discriminating against her on the lines of caste and was refusing to eat the food she was cooking.
In the meantime, the police had secured the burnt body of Kamali along an irrigation tank under Ilathur police station limits in Tenkasi district.
Based on a complaint from the village administrative officer, the police probed the case and arrested the husband and his relative, Thangatirupathi.
Stating that the Ilathur police had booked only a case of suspicious death initially to start the probe, Mr. Murugan said that since the murder was that of a SC woman by a caste Hindu, the provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should be invoked against the accused and also under the provisions of Domestic Violence Act.
Besides, Pavun should be arrested. The parents of the deceased should be given due compensation, the statement said.
Published - February 16, 2025 08:22 pm IST
