Days before his death, E. Ilavarasan, the Dalit youth whose body was found along the railway track in Dharmapuri on July 4, had called his wife Divya and threatened that he would commit suicide.
Divya confirmed this in a statement given to the Dharmapuri police on Friday, sources in the intelligence agencies said.
Divya made some startling revelations before the police that clarify certain crucial aspects in the case. According to her, Ilavarasan called her over phone a few days before his death and said that he would commit suicide if she failed to return to him. She was aware that her husband had attempted to commit suicide at a lodge in Chennai. Claiming that she went back to her mother on her own will and nobody forced her to do so, Divya identified the handwriting in the suicide note to be that of her husband.
The note was allegedly taken away from Ilavarasan’s body by a relative and later handed over to police. Document experts in the Tamil Nadu Forensic Science Laboratory had also validated that the handwriting was that of Ilavarasan.
When police played an audio tape, Divya confirmed that the conversation was between her and Ilavarasan. The conversation recorded by the youth on his mobile phone was retrieved by forensic experts after his death.
“The statement of Divya is very crucial in this case. She has confirmed the genuineness of the audio conversation. Her mother Thenmozhi has also given a statement that Ilavarasan told her about his intention to commit suicide,” a senior police official told The Hindu on Saturday.
The Vanniyar girl, whose marriage with Ilavarasan on October 14, 2012 and her father’s suicide following it had triggered caste clashes and unrest in parts of Tamil Nadu for several months. Acting on a Habeas Corpus petition filed by her mother Thenmozhi, the Madras High Court took cognisance of the matter. During the course of the hearing, Divya expressed her desire to live with her mother and told mediapersons that she would never return to her husband.
