On Saturday, Praveen, a car mechanic by profession, was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons by his wife’s brother and his accomplices in Pallikaranai area of Chennai.

Chennai News: In a shocking case of suspected honour killing, a 26-year-old man was hacked to death for marrying a girl from a different caste, allegedly by his own brother-in-law, in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai on Saturday.

As per the police, the victim, 26-year-old Praveen, had married his girlfriend, Sharmila, four months ago. However, the woman’s parents and other family members had opposed the union.

On Saturday, Praveen, a car mechanic by profession, was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons by his wife’s brother and his accomplices in Pallikaranai area of Chennai. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but died enroute, police said.

Giving details, a senior officer said that on Saturday, Praveen had left home to buy groceries when he was waylaid and attacked by Sharmila’s brother Dinesh and four of his accomplices.

Following the brutal murder,. a special police team nabbed the five accused identified as– Stefen Kumar, Jothi Lingam, Sriram, Ashok, Vishnu Raj and the victim’s brother-in-law, Dinesh.

“Praveen had gone out to buy groceries but did not return for over two hours. I started worrying but did not realise what had happened till I heard my daughter-in-law crying,” said the victim’s father, Gopi.

The grief-stricken father demanded strict action against the accused and swift justice for his son’s murder.

Police said prime-facie it appears to be a case of honor killing, however, investigations are underway to ascertain the exact motive behind the murder.

“Further probe in the case is underway,” they added.

19-year-old woman burned to death by family

In a similar incident in January this year, a  19-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly burned to death by her own family members, including her father, days after she married her Dalit boyfriend against the family’s wishes.

In a horrifying incident,  The incident took place in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, police said.

According to details, the deceased victim, Aishwarya was in love with Naveen– both 19 years of age, since childhood as both had been friends since their childhood days and later worked together in Tiruppur.

Naveen– a mechanical engineer by profession, had landed a job at a hosiery unit in Avarapalayam, Tiruppur, while Aishwarya worked at a textile mill in Palladam. However, Aishwarya soon joined her boyfriend as she got hired at the same firm.

The childhood friendship blossomed into love and the couple were in a relationship for 18 months before finally deciding to get married. However, Aishwarya– a caste Hindu, knew her family would never agree to the match as Naveen belonged to the Dalit community.

Fearing stiff resistance and repercussion from Aishwarya’s family, the couple, with the help of their friends got married without their families’ knowledge on December 31, 2023 at a temple in Avarapalayam and moved into a rented accomodation in Veerapandi in Theni district.

Aishwarya was allegedly burned to death by her own family on January 2, days after her marriage to Naveen.