In a significant move, the Tamil Nadu government has transferred the investigation into the murder of 27-year-old Dalit youth Kavin Selvaganesh to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). This decision follows concerns over a potential conflict of interest, as the parents of the prime accused, S Surjith (23), are both sub-inspectors in the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force.
Saravanan and Krishnakumari, Surjith’s parents and co-accused in the FIR, have been suspended from service. Surjith has been detained under the Goondas Act on orders from the Tirunelveli police commissioner.
Kavin, from Tuticorin and a member of the Devendra Kula Vellalar community, was hacked to death in Tirunelveli on July 27—allegedly due to his relationship with Subashini, a woman from the dominant Maravar caste. His family has refused to accept the body, demanding the arrest of Surjith’s parents and action against allegedly complicit police officers, including Inspector Kasi Pandian, whom Kavin’s father claims had threatened his son two weeks prior to the murder.
Dalit rights activist Kathir of the NGO Evidence alleged that the murder involved trained killers, not just Surjith, and called for a second autopsy and a special law against caste-based killings.
Despite appeals from ministers and senior police officers, Kavin’s parents remain firm, demanding accountability and arrests before they accept their son’s body.