Woman’s marriage with Dalit leads to honour killing-
Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 26.06.14
Woman’s marriage with Dalit leads to honour killing- The Hindu
9 suspects picked up in rape case, but no breakthrough yet- The Hindu
Dalit children to miss out on education- The Hindu
17-year-old ‘beaten, set ablaze by father’- The Indian Express
The Hindu
Woman’s marriage with Dalit leads to honour killing
Brother murdered her in the presence of children: husband
For Bhavani, 25, death could not have been crueller.
In what is perceived as another honour killing in Ramanathapuram, the police have arrested her brother on the charge of murdering her. Bhavani’s crime was that she had married a Dalit.
Born into a caste Hindu family, in this case Piramalai Kallars, at Kuyavankudi, Bhavani, after completing her Std. X, went to work in a garment company at Tirupur six years ago. At the workplace there, she fell in love with Satishkumar, a native of Sivakkam in Cuddalore. After a year, they got married in a temple at Ramanathapuram, in the presence of friends and well wishers.
Initially, Bhavani did not reveal her husband’s caste to her family, but elders distanced themselves from the couple after making discreet enquiries. As Bhavani’s parents were upset, Satishkumar decided to shift to Cuddalore.
When he got a job in a department store in Malaysia, Bhavani’s grandparents insisted that she live with them at Ramanathapuram. The woman, with her two children, left Cuddalore and was living with her grandparents for the past 10 months.
Three days ago, after an altercation, Bhavani’s family members allegedly beat her up. “In a fit of rage, my wife’s brother Dinesh Kumar murdered her with a knife, in the presence of our children,” Satishkumar, who flew down from Kula Lumpur two days ago, told The Hindu.
‘Laws not followed’
Veera Ganesan, a social activist at Ramanathapuram, accused the Kenikkarai police of not following the laws. “The victim’s husband was not informed. There was no inquiry with the family members. Post mortem was not video-graphed, and the cremation was done in a hurry,” he said.
However, a police officer said the police had registered a case of murder (under Section 302 of the IPC) and arrested Dinesh Kumar. The children were handed over to Satishkumar in the presence of a revenue official by a woman police officer on Tuesday.
‘Not a stray case’
Describing the death as “honour killing,” A. Kadir, executive director of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO, said Bhavani’s death was not a stray case. The National Commission for Women had given several recommendations for handling interference with the freedom of matrimonial alliance, but the body had not been given the power to enforce them.
In Tamil Nadu, 28 such cases, involving the death of 24 women, had been reported in the past two years. “There are three types of honour killings. Either kill the daughter or kill the boy who had married the girl. Or, kill both the boy and girl,” he says.
High Court advocate R. Satyamurthi said elders resorted to murdering their own children in their zeal to restore the family’s honour. In the case of Bhavani, since she hailed from a caste Hindu family, the question of atrocity against a Dalit did not arise. “It is a legal challenge, and the National Law Commission and the NCW should look into the gaps,” he said.
The Hindu
9 suspects picked up in rape case, but no breakthrough yet
The police have formed 12 special teams, each headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police
A day after the rape and murder of a 17-year-old Dalit girl near Karur, the police picked up nine suspects, but have not made any breakthrough.
The police have formed 12 special teams, each headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
While the team led by the Kulithalai DSP has been entrusted with the investigation, the other teams are charged with collecting intelligence, analysing cell phone details, interrogating the suspects, analysing the crime scene and working with forensic experts.
“Investigators have so far picked up nine suspects and are interrogating them,” S. Rajeswari, Superintendent of Police, Tiruchi, and in-charge of Karur district, told The Hindu on Wednesday.
“The teams are vigorously pursuing the clues and getting them corroborated,” said Ms. Rajeswari, who is camping in Karur district to monitor the probe.
One of the teams analysed the scene — a betel farm at K. Pichampatty village, where the body was found. The investigators have taken into possession the dress worn by the girl and her footwear.
Although the teams have gathered some clues, nothing tangible has come out for the investigators to zero in on the accused, police sources say.
The Mayanur police have filed a case on a complaint by the victim’s father Ponnusamy under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and Sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Directive to SHOs
The State police headquarters has instructed the Station House Officers (SHOs) to comply with the Supreme Court’s directive to expedite trial in such cases. The court order has been sent to all Superintendents of Police and Commissioners of Police, who have been told to circulate it among the SHOs.
The Hindu
Dalit children to miss out on education
Still in a state of shock and disbelief, the Dalits of K. Pichampatty, where a 17-year-old girl was raped and murdered, have decided not to send their children to the only school in the village.
“Most of the girls are scared following the gruesome murder of my daughter. I am not ready to lose another daughter. I have decided against sending her to the school situated in an unsafe location,” says Nagavalli, mother of the victim. Her younger daughter is in Class V.
Most parents of Dalit children here share the same view.
Alleging discrimination against Dalits in the village, they said the safety of their children would be at stake if they went to the school — situated in a place inhabited by caste Hindus — especially after the incident.
“Our children have been undergoing mental agony for long because of the sarcastic comments made by the upper caste people. There have been incidents of discrimination at school,” says D. Mangaiyarkarasi, another Dalit. The parents of Dalit students have decided to get the transfer certificate for their wards from the school because of lack of safety and security.
Located 25 km from here, K. Pichampatty, where the horrific incident occurred on Monday night, is yet to overcome its grief. The thatched shed in front of the victim’s house has also become a meeting point for human rights activists.
To express solidarity with the family of Ponnusamy, the girl’s father and a farmhand, the residents of the Dalit colony did not go to work.
“Monday’s act of violence is yet another example that the Dalits have always been soft targets. The wound will take a long time to heal,” says S. Anandan, a resident.
Terming the incident “most unfortunate,” K. Kandasamy, district secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist), on a fact finding mission, said it was a case of violence against the oppressed community.
“If the police had acted firm on similar offences reported in the district in recent past, this crime could have been avoided,” he says.
School remains closed
Meanwhile, the Panchayat Union Middle School remains closed for the second successive day.
“The school is closed because of the tense situation. Reopening will depend on the law and order situation,” said District Elementary Education Officer M. Ponnammal.
The Indian Express
17-year-old ‘beaten, set ablaze by father’
A 17-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly beaten to death and later was set on fire by her father and other family members in Saharanpur Tuesday.
The matter came to light after the local police received an anonymous letter informing about the incident. The bones and ashes were recovered from the place where the body was reportedly burnt following a rigorous search around 2.30 am on Wednesday.
An FIR against girl’s father Sethpal, a labourer, and unidentified family members was lodged at Nakud police station on a complaint filed by Juddi village chowkidar Sitaram. The case has been lodged on charges of murder and destruction of evidence.
SSP, Saharanpur, Rajesh Pandey said the recovered remains would be sent for forensic examination, adding the hunt is on to trace the girl’s father and others who are absconding.
The police said preliminary inquiry revealed the girl was reportedly having an affair with her elder sister’s brother-in-law and was pregnant. The investigation also found that the girl’s family had offered a proposal for their marriage, but the youth’s family reportedly demanded dowry which was turned down by the girl’s father.
The police added the girl’s father and others caught her with the same youth in a compromising state in the village and she was reportedly brought to the house where she was allegedly beaten to death.
The body was later set on fire.
Senior Sub-inspector (SSI), Nakud police station, Digambar said after receiving information on Tuesday evening they visited the girl’s house to find her ailing mother who said her daughter was assaulted by her father and others and was later taken outside the house. She said she was unaware as to what happened to her daughter.
News Monitor by Girish Pant
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of “Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC”)
Pl visit on FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/
..............................
Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre- PMARC has been initiated with the support from group of senior journalists, social activists, academics and intellectuals from Dalit and civil society to advocate and facilitate Dalits issues in the mainstream media. To create proper & adequate space with the Dalit perspective in the mainstream media national/ International on Dalit issues is primary objective of the PMARC.
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