The Tamil Nadu government should immediately bring about an Act to protect honour killing crimes in the State and which would also discourage the people from attacking young men and women, said Leela, mother of a youngster Subash, who was killed by a three-member gang in Tenkasi district in April 2026.
Speaking to media persons at Evidence office, an NGO, which works for the welfare of the SC/STs, she said that her son was working in a private firm in Bengaluru. He had come home to participate in a family function in April. On the night of April 16, a person identified as Dhanashankar called Subash and he had left to a place identified as Kannupulimettu.
Three persons, including a juvenile, who were in a drunken state, picked up a wordy altercation with Subash. He was asked to immediately stop meeting a girl, with whom he was having an affair. Suddenly, apart from Dhanashankar, two others Mariselvam, 27, and the 17-year-old boy attacked Subash with weapons. He died on the spot from his injuries.
The armed gang had later tied his hands with the dhothi he was wearing and dumped the body in an abandoned well in the vicinity.
Tenkasi district police registered a case of murder and also arrested all the three persons with the weapons.
It is said that the three accused were not relatives of the girl, but had killed Subash just because the girl belonged to their community and that they had objected to Subash having an affair, the woman narrated.
Evidence executive director A. Kathir said that between 2021 and 2025, 59 honour killing crimes had been reported in Tamil Nadu. The governments should enact a law, which alone would prevent such heinous crimes from being committed and the loss of young men and women could be saved.
While Dhanshankar and Mariselvam belonged to Maravar community, the juvenile hailed from an intermediate caste, the fact-finding team from Evidence stated in a press release.
The fact-finding team members urged the Tamil Nadu government to give a solatium of ₹25 lakh to the family of Subash, a government job for one of the family member and a pension of ₹20,000 to the family. They also appealed to the Director General of Police to ensure that the trio were not granted bail under any circumstances.
Published – May 28, 2026 08:55 pm IST
