A 27-year-old Dalit software engineer, Kavin Selva Ganesh, was murdered on Sunday in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, in what police are investigating as a suspected caste-based honour killing. The prime accused, 21-year-old S. Surjith—brother of the woman Kavin was reportedly in a relationship with—surrendered to authorities shortly after the incident.
In a development that has shocked the state’s law enforcement circles, Surjith’s parents, Saravanan and Krishnakumari, both serving sub-inspectors of police, have also been accused by the victim's parents of allegedly instigating the crime and previously threatening the victim.

Tamil Nadu 'Honour Killing' Case

Kavin, a native of Arumugamangalam in Thoothukudi district, had been working in Chennai’s IT sector. He was in Tirunelveli accompanying his family to a Siddha hospital in KTC Nagar, Palayamkottai, where his grandfather was receiving treatment. The hospital is also where Subashini, Surjith’s sister and the woman Kavin had been in a long-term relationship with, works as a consultant, as per reports.

According to police and eyewitness accounts, Surjith approached Kavin outside the hospital under the guise of a conversation. A verbal altercation quickly escalated culminating in a brutal attack with a sickle. Kavin sustained multiple injuries and died at the scene.

Law enforcement authorities have secured CCTV footage of the attack, which is being used as key evidence in the investigation. Surjith was arrested the day after the killing and has been booked along with his parents under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.