Caste Hindu girl S. Kausalya (20), whose Dalit husband Sankar (22) was >a victim of honour killing, reportedly attempted suicide by consuming malachite powder, a chemical substitute for cow-dung at her husband's house at Komaralingam, near Udumalpet, in Tirupur district.
Kausalya was taken to the local government hospital and then brought to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH). She is said to be out of danger.
Sankar and the girl from Dindigul studied in the same college, fell in love and got married in mid 2015 against the wishes of her family. While the couple was under threat from her family on various occasions, they lived in Sankar's house.
Her suicide attempt comes exactly two months after the attack on the couple in public at the Udumalpet bus Stand.
> On March 13, the couple had gone shopping and were returning home when hirelings of the girl's family attacked them with sharp weapons . While both were taken to the Udumalpet GH and referred to the CMCH, Sankar died on the way. The girl, who suffered a deep cut on her head, was treated at the hospital amid high police security.
Kausalya was discharged about 10 days later and of her own free will returned to her husband's place, opting to live with her in-laws. Their single room house was guarded by the police.
Kausalya’s father-in-law Velusamy told The Hindu that after the death of his wife due to an illness three years ago and the killing of his son, the suicide bid now by his daughter-in-law has worsened the mental agony of the family.
A. Kathir of Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO that is documenting and working against honour killings in Tamil Nadu over the last 11 years, told The Hindu that Sankar's house was too small and her father-in-law and brothers-in-law stayed at a relative's place at night, while a girl (Sankar's cousin) stayed with her.
After preliminary inquiries, he said, the girl could not come out of the trauma. "A couple of days ago she had gone to the crematorium and sobbed," he said. On Wednesday night, she had reportedly shown interest in staying alone at home.
The Tirupur District Police are conducting an inquiry into the circumstances that forced her to take the extreme decision.
