TN: 10 convicted for killing Dalit youth who spoke to woman of different caste

A special court in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday (March 5) convicted 10 men, including the founder of a caste outfit, for murdering a Dalit youth, V Gokulraj, for speaking with a woman friend from different caste in Namakkal district in 2015.

The judge, V Sampath Kumar, convicted the 10 accused, including Yuvraj, the president of Dheeran Chinnamalai Peravai, on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and abduction. Five others were acquitted. The court will pronounce the punishment on March 8.

After the judgment, Gokulraj’s mother, Chitra, said that she can now sleep peacefully. “After losing my husband, my son was my only hope. I was living all alone all these days with fear and anxiety. Today, I would sleep peacefully,” Chitra said. She said she now expects the highest punishment for the convicted people.

The case

On June 23, 2015, 21-year-old Gokulraj, a Dalit, was kidnapped by a group of men when he was with a female friend at a temple in Tiruchencode in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu. The next day, on June 24, Gokulraj’s headless body was found near a railway track.

Autopsy reports revealed it was not an accident but a murder. The victim’s family members released a video of the female friend, with whom Gokulraj was seen at the temple, where she was seen and heard saying they both were friends and not lovers.

The girl also said she saw Gokulraj being picked up by men belonging to Dheeran Chinnamalai Peravai. She pointed to the words written on the car in which Gokulraj was abducted to confirm the men belonged to Dheeraj Chinnamalai Peravai, a Kongu Vellalar vaste outfit.

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All the accused, except Yuvaraj was arrested soon after the incident. Yuvaraj was absconding for over three months. During the period, he released several audio tapes regarding the case, apart from giving interviews to the media.

DSP Vishnupriya, who was investigating the case, committed suicide. While she wrote that nobody was responsible for her decision to end her life, there were speculations that she did so because of pressure from higher officials with regards to the case.

After the case came up for hearing in a Namakkal court, 21 of the 72 witnesses, including Chitra, mother of Gokulraj, turned hostile. Based on a plea filed in Madras High Court, the trial was shifted to Madurai sessions court. The trial continued for over two years and the judgment was delivered on Saturday (March 5).