Youth murdered in 'Honour killing'; causes wide protests

Kottayam: A man who was abducted on Sunday night from Mannanam was found dead on Monday. The dead body of Kevin P Joseph (23) from SH Mount was found in a canal in Chaliyekkara, Punalur. The body had marks of injury and was found at dawn on Monday.

Kevin, who was from a different caste from that of Neenu, his wife, was allegedly murdered by his wife's family in a probable case of honour killing.

Kevin who had a love marriage with Neenu was kidnapped by the girl's family after breaking into his home. A friend of Kevin was also kidnapped, who was later released. The break-in and murder was conducted by a gang, apparently at the instance of the family of Neenu.

Shortly after the matter of love affair between Kevin and Neenu came to the knowledge of the latter's family, attempts were made to dissuade Neenu by her family, but failed. They lodged a complaint with the police on Kevin holding custody of the girl. The police initiated a mediation talk with both, but the fiancee insisted on the marriage.

The couple got married through a civil marriage and Kevin accommodated his wife in a hostel in Kottayam. Kevin himself had stayed in a relative's house in Mannanam. The girl was picked up by the girl's brother and a gang who came in three vehicles and broke into Kevin's house.

Promptly following the incident, there has been widespread public uproar against what is seen as an instance of 'honour killing' - hithero mostly heard from north India. There have been complaints that the police failed to take action in time on the complaint of Kevin's relatives.

Most of the complaints against the police were taken as valid by the government, including that there has been a failure on the part of the Sub Inspector, Gandhi Nagar, as per the report submitted by DySP. It was discovered that a case was not charged promptly on the complaint. Soon following such discovery about police inaction, the government suspended the Gandhi Nagar SHO MM Shibu, and transferred the District Police Chief VM Mohammed Rafik of Police.

The government also formed four separate teams to investigate the murder. As per the CM's office, IG Ernakulam Range, Vijay Sakhare has been assigned to head the four task forces. The police arrested three persons in connection with the incident by late Monday evening.

The matter has also taken a political dimension with members of the assailant gang said to include local level functionaries of the CPM's youth wing, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) belonging to the youth organization, in addition to the Opposition political parties using it as a stick to strike at the ruling front.

Added to it is the fact that the police at first did not heed the girl's complaint saying that they were busy with the chief minister's imminent visit in the district - a further ammunition for the Opposition against the left government used in the bypoll atmosphere of Chengannur.

Soon thereafter, more so in the context of the Chengannur bypoll, the scene of all incidents, the Opposition and the BJP have been trying to capitalise on the police failures. The Opposition staged in a sit-in on Monday and are observing a hartal in Kottayam district on Tuesday, which is also supported by Dalit organizations.