Blood-curdling caste-based revenge murders shock southern Tamil Nadu

Personal vengeance is known to trigger crimes. When fuelled by caste gangs, it becomes a deadly cocktail, as southern Tamil Nadu is increasingly witness to.

Just last week, a murder accused was killed by a gang of four men outside a court complex in Tirunelveli, in southern Tamil Nadu. Shocked by the manner in which the murder took place, the Madras High Court urged the state government to strengthen security in front of courts and judges’ quarters as an interim measure.

The victim, 25-year-old history-sheeter S Mayandi, was killed by a gang on Friday (December 20) when he arrived at the court for proceedings related to a murder case. Police sources said Mayandi, who hailed from a dominant caste, was one of the accused in the murder of Dalit panchayat ward member N Rajamani in August 2023. He had recently been granted bail.

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RTI, NCRB data endorse trend

A gang, whose members included a teenager, was involved in Mayandi's 'revenge murder'. They slashed a part of his face with a sickle in front of lawyers and litigants in the court premises.

Authorities confirmed that Mayandi, who was arrested under the Goonda Act a month ago, secured bail and continued attending court proceedings.

N Maruthupandi, a correspondent with The Federal’s sister concern Puthiya Thalaimurai, filed an RTI (Right to Information) query on murders in Tirunelveli district. Of the 240 murders recorded in the past four years in the district, 45 were revenge killings, it was found. The RTI document revealed that over 800 individuals were arrested for murder charges in the past four years, with 48 of them being juveniles.

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Tamil Nadu is seeing a rising trend in murders motivated by personal enmity. In 2022, nearly 1,600 murders were reported in the state, with 189 of them attributed to prior enmity.

Southern districts worst hit

Madurai-based human rights activist and advocate Henri Tiphagne told The Federal that a significant number of revenge murders occur in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Madurai, largely due to political patronage for caste groups.

“Lack of efforts to reform first-generation criminals have led to an increase in revenge murders over the years in southern Tamil Nadu. Many killings involve disputes between dominant caste groups and marginalised communities. Political patronage for caste groups is the main cause for rivalry murders,” said Henri.

According to him, the trend of enmity-driven murders in Tamil Nadu over the past decade reveals a complex interplay of social dynamics, including caste conflicts and gang violence.

“Despite some improvement in law enforcement responses and a decrease in certain crime rates recently, the persistence of murders driven by personal enmity underscores the need for continued focus on community safety and justice reform,” he added.

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Caste groups to blame?

When The Federal reached out to senior police officials in Tirunelveli district, they said that despite several efforts to curb revenge murders, many young men, particularly dropouts, are attracted to caste groups that fuel violence.

Pleading anonymity, a senior police official told The Federal that over 70 peace committee meetings aimed at reducing caste-related revenge murders have been arranged by the district police since 2015 to date.

“To prevent hostile killings, the criminals involved in murder cases and their aides are being regularly monitored. We take various measures to prevent caste-based revenge murders. It is unfortunate that many of these criminals are aged 25 years or less. Some are also associated with caste groups and political parties, which influence their release,” said the officer.

The social justice and human rights wing of the Tamil Nadu Police Department has identified areas in the state prone to caste atrocities. As of March 2024, 394 areas in the state were identified, with Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Thanjavur, and Theni being the most affected districts.

LoP slams DMK regime

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami flayed the DMK government for not taking serious steps to prevent violence in the state.

In his post on X, the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said: “How many more days will Mr. Stalin’s DMK government face law and order problems, calling them 'murders due to personal reasons'?

"I strongly condemn Mr. Stalin, who has no administrative skills and has disregarded law and order to the extent that criminals have no fear of the law or the state police that enforce it. I urge the DMK-led government to arrest all those involved in these crimes and take appropriate legal action.”

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Law Minister defends govt

However, Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy defended the government, stating that the accused in Mayandi’s murder were arrested within hours. He claimed that Palaniswami was “jealous” of the Dravidian model government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin and was falsely claiming that law and order was deteriorating.

In a message posted on his X handle, Regupathy said: “Unable to bear the fact that the killers were arrested so quickly, the Opposition leader has, as usual, started telling blatant lies about law and order.”

Pointing to crime statistics, he added, “In 2020, criminal cases under the IPC were 8.91 lakh; in 2022, they dropped to 1.93 lakh. This data highlights the significant difference between the two regimes, though only one person seems to fail to understand this.”