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Chennai: A 23-year-old Dalit youth was hacked to death in a suspected honour killing in Tamil Nadu’s Chengalpattu district.

The assailants, identified as Manikandan, Ezhumalai, Nantheesh, and Gautam, allegedly used machetes to attack Praveen, a resident of Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu, on the night of August 16. He succumbed to his injuries on August 20 at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

Police arrested all four accused and sent them to judicial custody on August 17. Authorities launched a search operation for the fifth accused, who is on the run.

Several reports indicate that Ezhumalai is a member of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and that his daughter, Ashwathi, had been romantically involved with Praveen. Both Ezhumalai and Praveen are from the Adi Dravidar community, which is a Scheduled Caste. However, the deceased was from a much poorer family, said Sathish Kumar, a neighbour.

Several attacks prior to murder

The August 16 attack was not the first instance of violence, with members of Ashwathi’s family allegedly threatening Praveen multiple times. “On a previous occasion, one of Ashwathi’s relatives came armed to Praveen’s house. He shouted, threatened, and even lunged at Praveen with a knife. Then he went away,” said Sathish, adding that there have been continuous threats. 

According to Sathish, approximately six months ago, Praveen was tied up and beaten by Ezhumalai and other accused. Praveen’s family had decided against filing a case.

The victim’s neighbour said that one of the accused, Manikandan, befriended Praveen three months ago. On the day of the murder, Praveen had allegedly gone to meet Manikandan when he was abducted in a car. He was later taken to another location where he was attacked.

Activists call for anti-honour killing laws

Between January and March 2026, as many as 59 honour killings have been documented in Tamil Nadu alone, according to anti-caste activists, who insist that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act does not address honour killings adequately.

Calling for an anti-honour killing law, the activists said that caste supremacy is just one of many factors motivating individuals to commit such crimes. Class, religion, and gender identities also play key roles. Like Praveen’s alleged honour killing, the involvement of Dalit communities makes it difficult to invoke the SC/ST Act. Under the Act, neither Christian nor Muslim Dalits are protected, the activists said, as they are not identified as a Scheduled Class.

Anti-caste activist and author Shalin Maria Lawrence said honour killings within Dalit communities are mostly centred around economic conditions, or class. She said such attacks must be understood through the lens of Ambedkar’s graded inequality.

“Praveen’s murder shows how caste, class, and patriarchy can intersect even within oppressed communities. Two people may belong to the same caste, yet not occupy the same social or economic position. The family’s claim to ‘honour’ can become a weapon against the person who crosses those boundaries,” she wrote on X.

Praveen was killed because someone believed that their idea of family honour was more important than his right to live and love, she said. “That is the brutality of graded inequality.”