Madurai

Thefamily and relatives of a Class 11 student whose body was found with injuries near a sewage pumping station in Anaiyur protested on Wednesday, refusing to accept his mortal remains. They demanded a comprehensive probe into the suspected murder, including the possible “honour killing” angle.

The victim, Tamizhselvan, a student at a government-aided school in Arapalayam, Madurai, had gone missing on Sunday morning after informing his mother that he was going to play cricket.

When he did not return by evening, his mother Yogalakshmi and relatives searched for him before lodging a missing person complaint at the Koodal Pudur police station. On Monday, the boy’s body was recovered from a puddle amid thorny bushes at an isolated spot near a sewage pumping station on Abdul Kalam Street in Anaiyur. The Koodal Pudur police initially registered a case of suspicious death and launched an investigation, collecting forensic evidence and examining CCTV footage from the locality. According to family members, Tamizhselvan was friendly with a schoolgirl from another community in the neighbourhood.

A few days before the incident, the girl’s father had reportedly confronted and warned him against speaking to her and asked where he lived. Based on these circumstances, the family suspected foul play and alleged that it could be a case of honour killing.

Agitated over the death, the student’s family initially staged a demonstration outside the government hospital mortuary, refusing to accept the body and alleging contradictions in statements given by persons identified through CCTV footage.

The agitation intensified as members of the joint action forum, ‘Tamizhselvan Neethikkaana Kootu Iyakkam’, along with the family, staged a protest near the Thiruvalluvar statue in Madurai.

The protesters demanded that the police thoroughly examine all available evidence, including CCTV footage, mobile phone call records, letters recovered during the investigation, the video recording of the post-mortem and forensic medical reports, to determine the circumstances of his death and whether it involved an honour-killing angle. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee former President K Selvaperunthagai posted a statement on X expressing shock over the incident.

“What is the background of this brutal incident that snatched the life of a young student? How did the student die? Who attacked him? Who else is involved in this incident?” Selvaperunthagai, whose party is part of the ruling alliance, asked. He urged the police to act swiftly and conduct an impartial investigation to uncover the truth, free from political interference or influence.