In a horrifying case of honour killing, a woman burnt her 17-year-old daughter alive on Tuesday (November 20) in order to restrict her from getting married to a Dalit man. The girl was taken to the government hospital in Nagapattinam where she succumbed to her injuries, The Times Of India reported. 

The mother later set herself on fire and is currently undergoing treatment with 90% burns. 

A fact-finding team led by Evidence, an anti-caste NGO, has revealed that the murder was carefully planned and allegedly carried out by her mother.

 K Janani, a class 10 student was a native of Vazhamangalam village in Nagapattinam. She was in love with a 22-year-old man named Rajkumar, a labourer, who also hailed from the same area and wanted to marry him.

The girl’s parents, Kannan and Uma Maheswari, were completely against this relationship as the guy belonged to the Dalit community. They decided to marry her off to another man from their own community. When Rajkumar came to know about this idea, he lodged Janani at a hostel in Mayiladurathai and later sent her to one of her relatives home at Thirunallaru in Karaikal.

The couple had plans to get married on November 24 as she was turning 18 that day.

In turn of events, the mother asked Janani to cut all ties with the man but the arguments ended in a fight on Monday night at their home. Around 4.30 am on Tuesday, her mother decided to kill her by pouring kerosene and setting her on fire while she was still asleep.

Hearing their screams, neighbours rushed in and doused the fire before admitting them in the government hospital where Uma, the mother, is still fighting for her life.

Thittacheri police initially booked Uma Maheswari, 48, under section 307 which was changed to murder following the girl’s death which confirmed the crime. However, further investigations are still underway and the whereabouts of Rajkumar is yet to be traced. 

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