TN honour killing: Man kills newly wed daughter, son-in-law for eloping

A 43-year-old man allegedly killed his daughter and son-in-law for eloping and marrying against the family’s wish in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (July 25).

The accused has been identified as S Muthukutti (43) a lorry driver, resident of Xavier Nagar near Ettayapuram in Thoothukudi district. According to the police, Muthukutti had reportedly planned an arranged marriage for his daughter Reshma (20).

But Reshma was already in a relationship with Manickaraja, a labourer who was also a resident of the same locality. Both of them belonged to the same subsect of a Scheduled Caste in Tamil Nadu.

Also read: Inter-caste couple, newly-weds, hacked to death by girl’s brother in TN

“On June 28, the couple eloped and left Thirumangalam. Since Reshma’s father had filed a  missing complaint at the Ettayapuram police station, she appeared before the police after marrying Manickaraja. She said she was a major, could marry anybody of her choice,” a police officer at Ettayapuram police said.

‘honoUr killing’ refers to the murder of a woman by male family members, who justify their actions by claiming the victim brought dishonor upon the family name. In the Indian context it mostly revolves around caste. In this case, it was the sheer refusal of the father to accept his daughter’s independent decision on her marriage.

“By that time itself, we sensed a life threat to the couple and had warned them against returning to the village,” the officer added.

However, the couple returned to the village without informing the police, started living on the same street as Reshma’s family.

On Monday (June 25), when Manickaraja and Reshma were alone in house, Muthukutti barged into their house and allegedly hacked Manicakaraja to death and later killed Reshma.

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“Muthukutti could not accept the fact that his daughter chose a partner of her choice,” said a police officer.

The Ettayapuram police managed to arrest Muthukutti on Tuesday (July 26). The police also arrested Muthukutti’s wife, Muthulakshmi, in connection with the murder.