People watched in shock and fear as the men attacked the couple.
Highlights
- Couple married eight months ago; families allegedly disapproved
- Wife repeatedly attacked, suffered severe head injuries
- Attackers escaped on bike, five teams formed to catch them
A young engineering student is dragged to a pavement and hacked to death by three men who then turn on his wife on a busy road, in chilling camera footage of an attack in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur on Sunday. People on the road watch, transfixed.
V Sankar, 23, and 19-year-old Kausalya had married just eight months ago, allegedly against the wishes of their families.
In CCTV footage, they are seen walking past a market and chatting when three men on a bike stop behind them and suddenly attack Sankar with sharp weapons.
When at last Sankar stops moving, his wife is repeatedly attacked till she falls to the ground. Others on the road are seen either watching in shock or backing away.
The attackers then escape on their bike, apparently unconcerned about being identified or caught.
Kausalya suffered severe head injuries.
Sankar was a third year engineering student. Kausalya’s family, which belongs to the politically powerful Thevar caste, was allegedly unhappy with their marriage.
Sankar's father Velu Samy said, "We thought her parents would accept them but it has ended in this bloody tragedy. We have lost him".
The Tirupur police have formed five teams to hunt for the killers.
"There could be up to five men in this operation. Only when we catch them we would be able to get the real motive," said a police officer who is a part of the investigation.
This is the third incident of this kind in Tamil Nadu in the last five years.
In July 2013, a Dalit man who had married an upper caste woman was found dead on a railway track in Dharmapuri district. Last year, another young man who was found talking to an upper caste woman was abducted and later found dead in Namakkal district.