The victim had been in a relationship with Malini, 26, an MBA graduate employed in Chennai, for nearly a decade. Both belonged to the Scheduled Caste community, but Malini's family had been opposed to the match.
Published Sep 16, 2025 | 5:25 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 16, 2025 | 5:25 PM
Synopsis: A 28-year-old Dalit youth, Vairamuthu, was hacked to death in Mayiladuthurai on Monday night, allegedly by the family members of his long-time partner Malini, who opposed their relationship. Police said he was intercepted on his way home, attacked with sharp weapons, and succumbed to his injuries at the government hospital. The murder sparked protests by CPI(M), DYFI and relatives demanding arrests under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A 28-year-old Dalit youth was brutally murdered in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai district late on Monday night, 15 September, allegedly by his lover’s family members who opposed their relationship.
The victim, identified as Vairamuthu, a DME diploma holder working as a two-wheeler mechanic, was returning home to Adiyamangalam village after closing his repair shop at around 10.30 pm when he was intercepted by a group of assailants.
Police said he was chased and hacked with sickles and other sharp weapons. He was rushed to the Mayiladuthurai Government Hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
The victim had been in a relationship with Malini, 26, an MBA graduate employed in Chennai, for nearly a decade.
Both belonged to the Scheduled Caste community, but Malini’s mother, Vijaya, hails from the Chettiar caste. Her family had been opposed to the match.
Vairamuthu’s relatives have accused Malini’s brothers Gugan and Gunal, among others, of carrying out the assault.
Police said they are probing all angles, including the involvement of Malini’s family.
Days before the killing, on 5 September, Malini’s family reportedly attempted to arrange her marriage elsewhere during a family gathering.
She refused and declared her intention to marry Vairamuthu, following which tensions escalated.
At the railway station, Malini’s brother Gugan allegedly assaulted her. When Vairamuthu intervened over the phone, Gugan reportedly abused and threatened to kill him.
Later, Malini’s mother confronted and allegedly attacked Vairamuthu at his workplace.
The matter reached the police, who on 12 September placed Malini under the care of Vairamuthu’s family after she testified that she wished to marry him.
Meanwhile, Malini’s family signed a statement disowning her and also allegedly threatened the couple.
“Even at the station, I said I would marry him with my parents’ consent, but my parents themselves disowned me in writing and walked away,” Malini told reporters at a protest organised in condemnation of the killing.
“For two days I stayed with his family before going back to Chennai for work. My family has always harassed him. Today they have killed him.”
Demanding swift justice, she named those she held responsible: “Gaviyarasan, Gugan, Gunal, Anbu Nidhi, Bhaskar, Anand, and my mother Vijaya – all of them must be arrested.”
She continued: “After ten years of love, everything has been destroyed. He couldn’t even live peacefully in the house he built. Police assured us of safety, but no one protected us.”
The murder triggered widespread outrage in Mayiladuthurai.
On Tuesday, Communist Party of India [CPI(M)] district secretary Srinivasan, cadres of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), and more than 100 relatives of the deceased staged a sit-in protest on the Mayiladuthurai–Kumbakonam highway near the government hospital.
They demanded the immediate arrest of all those involved. The road blockade disrupted traffic temporarily.
Police Superintendent Stalin visited the scene, ordered heightened security, and deployed over 30 personnel to prevent further unrest.
“Vairamuthu was an active member of DYFI. We demand that this case be booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” said DYFI district president Ayyappan, who led the protest.
“Until all the accused are arrested, we will not accept his body from the hospital.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
