The grieving parents of 27-year-old Dalit software engineer, Kavin Selvaganesh, finally received their son’s body on Friday, August 1, after the Tamil Nadu police arrested suspected sub-inspector Saravanan.
Saravanan served in the Tamil Nadu Special Police. He is the father of the prime accused, Surjit Saravanan, who brutally hacked Kavin to death in Tirunelveli district on July 27. Surjit surrendered after the murder and has been charged under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Goondas Act.
The case ignited a wave of public and political response. It was transferred to the Crime Branch–CID for an impartial investigation. DGP Shankar Jiwal confirmed that the preliminary probe indicated the motive was rooted in opposition to the inter-caste relationship.
Kavin was in a relationship with Subashini, Surjith’s sister. “We were in true love. Since we wanted some time to settle down, we didn’t say much about our relationship to my parents. On May 30, Surjith, my brother, informed my father about my relationship with Kavin. But when my father asked, I didn’t disclose anything as Kavin asked me for time,” she said in a viral video.
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CCTV footage captured Surjit taking Kavin on his bike near a Siddha treatment centre, where Subashini worked as a doctor. Kavin’s grandfather was admitted for treatment there.
The young Dalit’s mother, Tamilselvi, witnessed the brutal murder of her son. “While he (Surjith) was shouting, he suddenly attacked my son with a machete, injuring his arm. Kavin then started running, and Surjith chased him and hacked him to death. He told me to take the body and leave. ‘My parents will be peaceful only after this,’ he said,” her police complaint stated.
While Kavin was a Dalit from the Devendra Kula Vellalar, Subhashini belongs to the Maravar sub-caste of the Thevar community.
