The couple had been in love for more than 10 years, since their school days. But their relationship had long been a source of tension in Malini’s family, leading to frequent quarrels between the two households.
Published Sep 18, 2025 | 1:32 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 18, 2025 | 1:32 AM
Police have registered an FIR against six people, including Malini’s family members and two others.
Synopsis: Within a span of two months, Tamil Nadu has witnessed caste-based killings of two young men. The latter, of 28-year-old Vairamuthu, a Dalit from Adiyangulam village in Mayiladuthurai on Monday night was allegedly orchestrated by the family of the victim’s long-time partner. Police have registered an FIR against six people, including Malini’s family members and two others, while activists have reiterated a demand for a special law against such killings. South First was on the ground to better understand the events leading up to the murder.
“He couldn’t even live in the house he built with so much desire. I loved him for ten years, and now everything is gone. What will I do with my life now?” said a tearful Malini, partner of K Vairamuthu, the 28-year-old Dalit youth hacked to death on Monday night in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai district by her family members.
Vairamuthu had been building the house with money saved over time in the hope of marrying Malini and providing a better life for his family. Today, that unfinished house stands frozen midway, a symbol of the void left in his family after his untimely death.
Barely a month and a half ago, 27-year-old Software Engineer Kavin Selvaganesh from Thoothukudi was murdered in a caste-based honour killing. Now, before that wound could heal, Vairamuthu of Adiyangulam village—the sole breadwinner for his elderly parents and two unmarried sisters—has also fallen victim to a similar crime.
Police have registered an FIR against six people, including Malini’s family members and two others: her mother Vijaya, brothers Guhan and Gunal, uncle Bhaskar, and Kaviyarasan and Anbunithi.
They are accused of conspiring and murdering Vairamuthu with sharp weapons near his home at around 10.30 pm on 15 September. Malini’s father Kumar reportedly never opposed the relationship and has not been named in the FIR.
South First was on the ground at Adiyangulam village on Wednesday, when Vairamuthu’s final rites were performed.
Caste segregation is plainly evident in Adiyangulam, where a pond divides Dalits and other castes. Vairamuthu and Malini’s families had long been neighbours on Pillaiyar Koil Street. Both belonged to Dalit sub-castes known locally as “Paraya”.
After completing his DME diploma, Vairamuthu worked at a two-wheeler repair shop. Malini, who had finished her MBA, was employed at a private company in Chennai.
The couple had been in love for more than 10 years, since their school days. But their relationship had long been a source of tension in Malini’s family, leading to frequent quarrels between the two households.
Earlier this month, the conflict escalated when Malini’s family arranged her marriage with a relative. On 5 September, when she came home from Chennai for a family function, her mother Vijaya pressured her to accept the match.
Malini firmly refused, declaring that she loved only Vairamuthu and would marry him. Enraged, her mother and brothers reportedly attacked her and threatened to kill Vairamuthu over the phone.
On 8 September, Vijaya went directly to the workshop where Vairamuthu worked, hurled vulgar abuse, and physically attacked him. The altercation was recorded by Vairamuthu on his cellphone.
“You should have been beaten to death long ago. It was a mistake to spare you,” she said, using casteist insults. “I foolishly married a Paraya man and ruined my life. My daughter’s life should not be wasted the same way.”
Notably, Vijaya, born in the Chettiar caste, had herself married across caste lines to Malini’s father Kumar, who was Dalit.
When threats and abuse failed to deter Vairamuthu and Malini, her family filed a police complaint against him on 12 September.
Both sides were called for an inquiry. Malini gave a statement in support of Vairamuthu, after which police placed her under the care of his family, as she testified that she wished to marry him.
Malini’s mother Vijaya reportedly signed a statement disowning her and allegedly threatened the couple.
Following this, Vairamuthu and Malini decided that marriage was their only option. Malini stayed for two days at a relative’s house before going to Chennai to collect her certificates.
But soon after, her family—including Vijaya, her brothers, relatives and friends—allegedly began plotting against Vairamuthu.
As per the plan, on 15 September at around 10.30 pm, when Vairamuthu was returning home from the workshop near the old Collector’s office, he was intercepted on Pillaiyar Koil Street.
Locals said he was first hacked on both hands but managed to escape briefly, running into a neighbour’s yard. There, the assailants surrounded him from both sides, struck his head, and continued to hack and beat him until he collapsed in a pool of blood.
Neighbours, who rushed to the spot after hearing screams, took him to the Mayiladuthurai Government Hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Vairamuthu’s friends said Malini’s family had long spoken of harming him, with an intent not just to intimidate but to kill.
“Vairamuthu was active in the DYFI. He was the first to step forward whenever anyone had a problem in his area. But here, caste hatred alone drove the murder. This is not just a matter of marriage; this stems from deep-seated anger,” Arivazhagan, Vairamuthu’s friend and district secretary of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, told South First.
Others noted that the pattern of the killing suggested it was carefully planned. Instead of attacking him on the main road, they waited until he entered the narrow street near his home – a place with no CCTV cameras, where villagers usually slept before 9 pm, and where no one was likely to intervene.
They also accused Vijaya and Kaviyarasan of being the main conspirators. Kaviyarasan is reportedly aligned with a political party in the DMK alliance, which also speaks publicly for Dalit rights.
A distraught Malini pointed to police negligence.
“We trusted the police to protect us. But no one came to save us,” she said, demanding justice for Vairamuthu’s death.
Vairamuthu’s friends made similar allegations. They noted that although the couple went to the station on 12 September, no preventive security measures were taken.
Initially, the case was not registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, despite Vijaya’s openly casteist remarks on 8 September. It was only after two days of protests by organisations such as the CPI(M), DYFI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front that the police added atrocity provisions.
On 17 September, the case, first registered under IPC sections 191(3), 128(2), 296(b), 103(2) BNB, was altered to include 191(2), 120(2), 296(b), 103(2) BNS read with 61(2) BNS, and Section 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2016.
“Whatever the initial lapses, now the police have at least registered the case under the SC/ST Act,” Arivazhagan acknowledged.
Police said that of the five accused, one—Gunal—is still absconding.
“Vijaya, Gunal, Guhan, Bhaskar, Subash, and Kaviyarasan must all be arrested,” Malini demanded.
Meganathan, Mayiladuthurai district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, reiterated the call for special legislation against honour and caste killings.
“For long we have been fighting here against caste walls and other forms of discrimination. Vairamuthu was brutally murdered with caste prejudice by Malini’s mother and family. Both families belong to Dalit communities, yet caste hatred has seeped in between them,” he said.
“This is why we have been demanding a special law against honour killings and a dedicated department to protect couples in inter-caste marriages. The Tamil Nadu government must immediately consider and implement this demand.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
