My parents not involved in murder: Girlfriend of honour killing victim speaks out

Breaking her silence, 27-year-old S Subhashini on Thursday acknowledged that she was in a romantic relationship with Kavin Selva Ganesh, who was murdered by her brother, but claimed that her parents, both sub-inspectors of police, had no role in the case.

Kavin’s suspected honour killing by Subashini’s brother, S Surjith, has sparked public debate in Tamil Nadu, with activists highlighting a rise in such incidents.

The day also saw the ruling DMK and BJP – both under severe criticism for not standing by the victim, a Dalit, apparently to appease Mukulathors, a dominant caste to which Surjith and Subhashini belong.

While Kanimozhi and K N Nehru represented the DMK, BJP state chief Nainar Nagendran, and others visited Kavin’s residence in Tirunelveli and consoled his family. Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami and former BJP chief K Annamalai tweeted against Kavin’s death and asked for restraint.

In a video, Subhashini said she and Kavin were deeply in love and that the latter asked her for some more time to settle before informing the girl’s parents. The Siddha doctor said Kavin and Surjith met on May 30 following which the latter told their father about his elder sister’s relationship.

“When my father asked whether I was in love with Kavin, I said no. It is because Kavin asked me six months’ time before we open up our relationship to my parents. I really don’t know what transpired between Kavin and Surjith on the fateful day. But my parents have nothing to do with this (murder),” she said.

Subhashini’s parents have been booked along with his brother while their father is also under arrest. The woman also asked people to respect her privacy by

Her video comes a day after Surjith was booked under the stringent Goondas Act and the case was transferred to CB-CID. Kavin Selva Ganesh and Subhashini had been in a relationship for many years despite the girl’s family disapproving of the same.

On July 27, Surjith lured Kavin -- who had come to Subhashini’s clinic to discuss his grandfather’s health -- away on the pretext of meeting his parents. While riding together on a bike, just 200 metres from the clinic, Surjith attacked Kavin with a knife.

Kavin belonged to the Devendra Kula Vellalar (DKV), a Dalit sub-caste, while Subhashini is from the Maravar community, part of the Mukulathor group along with Kallar and Agamudaiyar communities.