Due to the election campaign, the case received little media coverage. The family has demanded compensation of 25 lakh rupees and a separate law against honor killings.
Sangottai (Tenkasi) – Sangottai in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu, has once again exposed the dark truth of caste-based honor killings. Subhash, a 21-year-old youth from the Devendrakula (Dalit) community, was brutally murdered while he was simply engaging in a friendly conversation with a minor. The killers hacked him with a sickle, crushed him with stones, and then threw him into a well, tying his hands and feet with weights. Due to the election campaign, the case received little media coverage, preventing widespread publicity. The Evidence Organization’s team inspected the scene, and the fact-finding report revealed the gravity of the matter.
Subhash’s mother, Leela, and other relatives went to the Evidence Office on May 26th and submitted a formal complaint. Subhash was the youngest son of Sami and Leela. He worked at a private company in Bengaluru. According to reports, 21-year-old Subhash had come to Sangottai to attend his sister’s child’s tonsure ceremony. There, he had a friendly conversation with a 16-year-old girl from the Maravar community. Angered by this, Marichelvam (27), Dhanashankar (24), and a 17-year-old from the Asari community, confronted Subhash on April 15th.
According to reports, Subhash worked at a private company in Bengaluru. At around 2:30 a.m. on April 16th, the accused, Dhanashankar, called him. As soon as Subhash arrived on Kannupuli Mettu Road, the three men surrounded him and asked, “How can you talk to a girl from our caste?”
He was then severely beaten, his dhoti was torn, his throat was slit with a sickle, and his body was thrown into a ruined well after being covered with large stones.
A case has been registered at the Sengottai Police Station under Crime No. 0166/2026, under sections 238 and 103(1) of the BNS Act, 2023, and sections 3(1)(r) and 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. All three accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
Police investigations confirmed the presence of liquor bottles, blood-stained stones, and sand at the scene. Police have also recovered the weapon used in the murder. The family and relatives of the girl, with whom Subhash had spoken cordially, were not part of the murder group.
Police have confirmed that the murder was committed solely because Subhash had spoken to a girl from an “upper caste.” Sangottai police initially registered a missing person case, but later added other sections. All three accused have been arrested and remanded in custody. The Gangsters Act has also been invoked against two of the accused.
Subhash’s mother, Leela, sent a complaint to the Police Chief, Chief Secretary, DGP, and National SC/ST Commission on May 26. Her main demands are:
- The Tamil Nadu government should immediately enact a separate law against honor killings.
- The victim’s family should be given compensation of ₹2.5 million, a government job, a monthly pension of ₹20,000, and agricultural land.
- The three accused should not be granted bail until the verdict is announced.
It is noteworthy that between 2021 and 2025, 59 people have been killed in caste-based honor killings in Tamil Nadu. Subhash was murdered in April this year, and a young man named Sanjay was murdered in Kovilpatti in May. Acting Director of Evidence, A. Kathir, says, “This case was overshadowed by the election noise, but now the truth must be revealed. We expect a strict sentence from the court.” Police have currently remanded the three accused in judicial custody, and further investigations are underway.
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy: Hindi News