Honour killing: Death penalty for Coimbatore man who killed brother, Dalit wife
Terming the case rarest of rare, the judge, in addition, awards the prime accused 1-year jail term for trespassing
Accused K Vinoth Kumar
COIMBATORE: In the 2019 honour killing case, a special court in Coimbatore on Wednesday awarded the death sentence to a man for killing his brother and the latter’s SC girlfriend.
Terming the double murder as a rarest of the rare cases, Judge K Vivekananthan, of the special court for trying offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, pronounced the death penalty to prime accused K Vinoth Kumar, a daily wager.
The court last week declared him guilty of double murder while three other co-conspirators -- R Kanthavel (26), S Iyappan (36), and R Chinnaraj (40), were acquitted for lack of evidence.
According to the prosecution, Kumar planned and executed the murder of his brother K Kanagaraj (22), from a Most Backward Community, and his girlfriend Varshini Priya (16), belonging to a Scheduled Caste, after they got married braving his repeated threats and persistent opposition.
It is said that Kumar was apprehensive that he may not find a bride if his brother married a girl from the SC community.
Due to Kumar’s objection to their marriage, Kanagaraj and the girl moved into a rented house at Vellipalayam near Mettupalayam on June 22, 2019.
On June 25, Kumar hacked his younger brother to death and left the girl critically injured at their rented house. However, she died later at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). Kumar later surrendered at the Mettupalayam police station. The minor girl’s mother was among the 16 witnesses to record their statement in the case.
Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Vivekananthan said, “The couple, who were married after being in love, were hacked to death just because they belonged to different castes. Vinoth Kumar should be hanged until death.”
Besides the death penalty, the court also awarded one year of prison for trespassing into the house and levied a fine of Rs 1,000 to the accused. The convict was then taken to be lodged at Coimbatore Central Prison.
Expressing contentment over the death penalty given to Vinoth Kumar, Varshini Priya’s mother said, “Such heinous crimes should not happen anywhere and this verdict would serve as a deterrent. My agony over the loss of my daughter to the caste issue is unbearable.”
Special public prosecutor ‘Bhavani’ B Mohan said caste discrimination and honour killings continue in different parts of Tamil Nadu. “Honour killings can be stopped only with stringent punishments,” he said.
