A Scheduled Caste man from Kanniyakumari district has moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking re-postmortem on the body of his brother who was allegedly killed in a case of honour killing.
The petitioner, S. Suman Anand of Thovalai, said his brother Suresh Kumar and one N. Thanganeela were in a relationship. Since the family members of the woman were looking for a suitable marriage alliance, she asked Suresh Kumar to approach her parents. She, however, apprehended that they would not accept the relationship.
When the families met, there was a disagreement as they belonged to different castes. Suresh Kumar was asked not to contact Thanganeela. It was alleged that he was threatened with dire consequences.
Under these circumstances, the petitioner said, the family members of Thanganeela lodged a police complaint against his brother. On November 7, Suresh Kumar was called to the police station for an inquiry.
The petitioner said Suresh Kumar informed his advocate of the development. The advocate reached the police station at about 5 p.m. but Suresh Kumar did not turn up. Hence, the petitioner went in search of his brother, he said.
Later, he found his brother in an unconscious state with blood and injuries all over the body. His mobile phone was broken and the memory card missing. He was taken to a nearby clinic and then to Asaripallam Government Medical College Hospital in Nagercoil, where doctors informed them that Suresh Kumar was dead.
The police told the family members that he had committed suicide. The petitioner said his brother was killed by the woman’s family.
He said the body was handed over to the family members, but the postmortem certificate was not given to them. He sought a direction to the authorities to conduct a re-postmortem on the body. He also sought a probe into the death of his brother.
Justice G.R. Swaminathan directed the authorities to hand over a copy of the postmortem to the petitioner’s counsel. The case was adjourned till November 16.
