‘I thought they would accept us one day’ – 4 years after honour killing, fear of death looms over Palakkad family

According to the household and investigators, it was Aneesh’s caste – helium was a creator from the backward Kodachi-Kalla caste against Haritha’s precocious people and landowning Saiva Vellala (Pillai) household — that prompted the murder. At the clip of the incident, Haritha and Aneesh had been joined for lone 89 days.

Both Prabhukumar and Suresh Kumar are present successful jail, but that hasn’t stopped fearfulness of decease from permeating the mundane lives of Haritha and her in-laws.

“When she should be her BBA people astatine Marian College successful Koduvayur, my hubby (Arumughan) drops her by bike. Then I spell to assemblage successful the day to travel her backmost home. If she has an exam, I hold until she comes out,” Radha, who was a farmhand until her son’s execution prompted her to halt reporting to work, tells The Indian Express portion Haritha chimes in: “My household had threatened to decorativeness maine disconnected too”.

Aneesh and Haritha. (special arrangement_

According to Haritha, she and Aneesh, a Class 5 dropout and the 4th of 8 children, fell successful emotion erstwhile she was successful Class 10. Her household was good off, moving a sewing instrumentality concern and besides owning cultivation land.

“Our narration started during my schoolhouse days. A twelvemonth into it, my parents and relatives came to cognize astir it. To marque maine interruption it off, my parent would battle maine portion my begetter would verbally maltreatment me. But Aneesh gave maine courageousness and hope,” says Haritha.

In 2020, erstwhile Haritha turned 18, her household started scouting for grooms, arranging a lucifer with a antheral from Coimbatore. On September 27 that year, erstwhile her parents were successful Coimbatore to guardant the match, Haritha joined Aneesh astatine a section temple.

“We had antecedently decided that I should proceed with my acquisition and unafraid a authorities job. But erstwhile my parents tried to unreserved done with different proposal, we hastily married,” she says.

When they recovered out, Haritha’s furious household filed a constabulary ailment and the mates was summoned to the section constabulary station. The mates was yet told they could unrecorded unneurotic and Haritha’s household was warned against “harassing” them.

According to Haritha, however, occupation began close extracurricular the constabulary station, erstwhile Prabhukumar threatened his girl saying the beingness of her thali (a ineffable yellowish thread worn by galore South Indian brides to signify being married) “will beryllium lone for 3 months”.

The 2 houses were lone a kilometre apart, and sensing danger, the mates kept distant from Elamannam for a week, alternatively staying with Arun’s household successful Alathur. However, they yet returned to the location Aneesh shared with his parents and 5 different siblings.

On December 25 – the 90th time of the couple’s matrimony – Aneesh and his member Arun had gone to a adjacent junction astatine Manamkulambu to acquisition immoderate regular provisions erstwhile the onslaught occurred. His member had stopped for a soda and Aneesh was waiting connected a two-wheeler extracurricular a store erstwhile Prabhukumar and Suresh came determination connected their bikes and attacked him with the robust rods they were carrying, dragging him to a adjacent ditch.

When Arun, connected proceeding his brother’s outcry for help, tried to intervene, they threatened to bushed him up too. Then Suresh produced a weapon and stabbed Aneesh aggregate times, fleeing with his member soon after.

By the clip immoderate locals took him to a hospital, Aneesh had already died. According to the postmortem report, helium had 19 fatal wounds.

Radha believes determination could beryllium different crushed wherefore Haritha’s household disliked the relationship.

“I had worked successful the paddy tract of Haritha’s maternal uncle for galore years. They mightiness person thought my lad marrying Haritha arsenic an insult to them,” she says.

According to Aneesh’s oldest brotherAnil, the mates continued to look threats passim the little matrimony and adjacent complained to the police. “But nary enactment was taken,” helium says.

Meanwhile, the mates continued surviving astatine Elamannam, reasoning the menace would dice down and that Haritha’s household would yet travel to judge her choice. What they didn’t expect was however her begetter and uncle would execution her husband.

“We didn’t program to determination to a spot distant from home. Our comfortableness was that each the household members (of Aneesh) were nearby. Besides, we person seen instances wherever specified problems yet get resolved with time. I thought 1 time my parents would judge our matrimony and invited Aneesh into their lives,” said Haritha.

Unlike Haritha’s family, Aneesh’s broadside knew thing of the narration initially, says Radha. “We lone knew erstwhile they got married.”

For Haritha, going from her well-to-do factual location to Aneesh’s poorer location with nary roadworthy entree made for a important change. The household has constricted means, hardly getting by with Arumughan’s regular wage of Rs 750 from the coating projects helium undertakes successful Palakkad town.

But contempt these challenges, she appears to person recovered solace successful her husband’s family. The tragic decease of her hubby had affected a fewer exams, but she present plans to spell connected with her plans – finishing her BBA, clearing Public Service Commission exams and yet securing an MBA — with her in-laws’ support. “Aneesh’s parents and his siblings instrumentality attraction of maine precise well. I don’t consciousness thing lacking here,” she says.

After Aneesh’s murder, the authorities authorities offered Haritha an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh from the main minister’s distress alleviation fund. “I bought 3 cents of onshore (approximately 1,306.677 sq. feet) utilizing that money. I privation to physique a house. A occupation and a location are my dreams. I person already petitioned the authorities for a job,” she says.

Haritha hasn’t been successful interaction with her household since the incident, adjacent avoiding her husband’s execution proceedings and going to tribunal lone erstwhile she was called for examination.

“At the court, I didn’t adjacent look astatine the faces of my begetter and uncle. I privation the judiciary to springiness them a much terrible punishment than beingness word and volition petition the authorities to entreaty against the proceedings tribunal sentence. Because cipher should person to look this fate,” she says.