Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 30 : Tamil Nadu government has transferred the investigation of the murder case of 23-year-old Kavin Selvaganesh from Thoothukudi to the CB-CID (Crime Branch - Criminal Investigation Department) for a more independent probe.
The case in which Selvaganesh from Thoothukudi district was hacked to death in Tirunelveli on July 27 has sparked widespread concern.
Prior to this based on a complaint filed by the deceased's mother, the Palayankottai Police registered a case and initiated legal proceedings under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR has named S Surjith, the prime accused, along with his parents -- Saravanan and Krishnakumari -- both of whom are Sub-Inspectors in the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force.
The police invoked Sections 296(b), 49, and 103(1) of the BNS, and Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), and 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act, indicating the case's grave nature and its caste-based implications.
According to preliminary investigations, the murder is believed to be linked to a personal relationship between the deceased IT employee and Surjith's sister. Police sources state that a dispute over the relationship led to the fatal attack. Surjith was arrested on the same day the murder occurred and has since been remanded to judicial custody. In a significant development, he was detained under the Goondas Act today.
To ensure transparency and impartiality, authorities have suspended both Saravanan and Krishnakumari from service. Their suspension aims to prevent any potential interference in the ongoing investigation, given their positions within the police force.
Selvaganesh, worked for a Chennai-based IT company, while the woman, a Siddha practitioner employed at a private clinic in Palayamkottai, belongs to a Most Backward Class (MBC) community.
Selvaganesh had visited Arumugamangalam to take his grandfather to the clinic where the woman worked.
According to police upon learning that Selvaganesh was at the clinic, Surjith arrived and asked him to accompany him for conciliation talks.
Shortly afterwards, the assailant brutally hacked Selvaganesh to death with a concealed machete before fleeing the scene.
Palayamkottai police which rushed to the spot, recovered Selvaganesh's body, and sent it to Palayamkottai Government Hospital for postmortem. Inspector Kasi Pandian and his team secured CCTV footage from the area and launched an investigation.