A dalit student, who had married an upper caste Hindu girl, was hacked to death in full public view on Sunday in Tirupur. A gang of three, brandishing weapons, came on a motorcycle and attacked the youth as the public watched. After the attack, the threesome fled the scene on the motorbike. The attack was captured on a surveillance camera installed in the locality.
V. Sankar (22) died on the way to hospital and his wife S. Kausalya (19), who was also attacked, suffered a head injury. She was admitted to the Coimbatore Government Hospital and her condition is said to be stable.
Sankar, from Kumaralingom village in Udumalpet, and Kausalya, from Palani, were students of a private engineering college in Pollachi. The couple got married a few months ago despite opposition from the girl's family. The attackers were said to have been hired by a relative of the girl.
Though Shankar's family had accepted the couple, Kausalya's family continued to oppose the marriage. Kousalya had stopped going to college in order to support Sankar who continued to study.
The couple were in Udumalpet for shopping when they were attacked by the gang. Nobody from the crowd intervened to stop the attack. After the assailants fled, the couple was rushed to hospital.
With the help of photographs taken by passers-by, the police have launched a search for the assailants. A special team has been formed to track the attackers.
