Dharmapuri couple elopes, boy’s family assaulted, six booked

 According to the police, the 24-year-old man and the girl studying in college and hailing from a different community from that of the boy’s, had gone missing a few weeks ago. It is believed that they got married and settled down in Bengaluru, where the youth is employed in a private firm.

Fearing backlash from the girl’s family, who belonged to the more dominant community in Pappireddipatti, relatives of the youth had moved to Karnataka. However, the girl’s family forcefully brought eight of the boy’s relatives to Thalapallam village in Dharmapuri. They were then locked up in a house and even thrashed in front of other villagers on July 24, seeking the whereabouts of the couple, sources said. The assaulted victims, who managed to return to Karnataka, then lodged a police complaint there, sources said. Meanwhile, Raja, a relative of the boy, on Wednesday lodged a complaint demanding action against the assaulters with the Indoor police in Dharmapuri.

The police subsequently booked six people, identified as Bhaskar, Senthil, Dharmalingam, Kanagaraj, Arogyaraj and Shanthi. The complainant also stated that the girl’s family issued death threats to the boy’s relatives if their girl didn’t return home.

The police said the Karnataka police were already pursuing the case as a complaint was filed there and a parallel investigation will be carried out here too. They have invoked various IPC sections for confinement, assault, and criminal intimidation against the accused, besides thoseunder the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.