Kavin murder sparks outrage, CB-CID takes over; family refuses body, demands arrests | Madurai News

TIRUNELVELI: The investigation into the murder of 27-year-old dalit man Kavin Selvaganesh has been transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), the Tamil Nadu police said in a statement on Wednesday.This was because the parents of the main accused, S Surjith, 23, are serving as sub-inspectors in the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force, it said. Both Saravanan and Krishnakumari, named as co-accused in the FIR, were suspended from service. “Considering the seriousness and importance of the case, and to guarantee an independent and unbiased investigation, the case has now been handed over to the CB-CID,” the release added.Earlier in the day, Surjith was detained under Goondas Act following a detention order issued by Tirunelveli commissioner of police Santosh Hadimani.Meanwhile, for the fourth consecutive day, Kavin’s parents refused to receive his body, demanding the arrest of Subashini’s parents and action against police officials allegedly complicit in the case.Speaking to reporters in Tirunelveli, Kavin’s father Chandrasekar alleged that Palayamkottai inspector Kasi Pandian threatened his son 15 days before the murder. “Even now, no senior officer has come forward to investigate. Pandian should be dismissed. If the govt does not act, we will resort to all forms of protest,” he said.Kavin, a native of Tuticorin district and belonging to the scheduled caste devendra kula vellalar community, was hacked to death on July 27 at KTC Nagar in Tirunelveli. The murder is believed to have been triggered by his relationship with Subashini, a woman from the maravar caste. Meanwhile, A Kathir, founder of the dalit rights NGO Evidence, demanded that Krishnakumari and Saravanan be arrested immediately. At a press conference in Madurai, he claimed that Kavin’s family possesses chat records confirming the relationship between Kavin and Subashini. “This doesn’t appear to be a murder executed solely by Surjith. The injury marks on Kavin’s body suggest the involvement of trained assailants. The postmortem was done in haste, and we demand a second, transparent autopsy,” he said.Kathir urged chief minister M K Stalin to respond to the incident, drawing parallels with the custodial death case in Madapuram. He called for a dedicated law to prevent caste-based killings in the state. Later in the evening, senior ministers K N Nehru and Anitha R Radhakrishnan, along with south zone IG Prem Anand Sinha and Tirunelveli city police commissioner Santosh Hadimani, met Kavin’s parents and urged the family to receive the body, stating that the case had been transferred to the CB-CID. However, Kavin’s parents refused to receive the body, insisting that Surjith’s parents must be arrested since they have been named as accused in the FIR.