Kowsalya seeks arrest of mother, uncle

Members from The National Commission for Scheduled Caste on Wednesday visited Kowsalya, widow of dalit youth Shankar, who was brutally murdered in an act of honour killing in Udumalpet on Sunday. Kowsalya, who is still in shock, narrated the entire episode to the commission, besides seeking the arrest of her mother and maternal uncle at the earliest for their involvement in the heinous crime.

Research officer C Chandraprabha and investigator S Lister, along with officials of the Tirupur district administration and police, visited Kowsalya at government hospital in Coimbatore, where she has been receiving treatment for the past three days. Chandraprabha told TOI, "Kowsalya narrated the entire episode to us and we have recorded every detail. She has asked for a greenhouse and opportunity to pursue higher education."

The commission has assured Kowsalya that they would forward her demands to the authorities and do everything possible to ensure her security and treatment. "She is yet to recover from the shock, and is finding it difficult to talk," Chandraprabha said.

The commission had earlier in the day visited Shankar's family in Kumaralingam, near Udumalpet. "Shankar's father also narrated the incident to us. Kowsalya was attacked twice before Shankar's murder on Sunday. She was first attacked a week after she got married to Shankar, when her parents kidnapped her. Then there was bid to kill her around two months ago," said Lister.

According to Kowsalya, her parents visited her at Shankar'a house and asked her to come home to meet her ailing grandfather. "Her parents then kidnapped her. In the second incident, she was near a tea stall in Udumalpet, where unidentified men followed her. The owner of the stall alerted Kowsalya, and she waited there until the men left the place," Lister told TOI.

"All other procedures are being followed. Rs5.62 lakh has been sanctioned towards compensation," Chandraprabha said. When asked about submission of the report, she said they would compile it and send it to Delhi in the next two days.

Meanwhile, the Udumalpet police is still hunting for Kowsalaya's mother Annalakshmi, maternal uncle Pandi and the mastermind behind the murder, Dhanaraj. Police had arrested five accused in the case on Tuesday. They were remanded in police custody on Wednesday. "Search for Annalakshmi, Pandi and Dhanaraj is on," Vivekanandhan, deputy superintendent of police, Udumalpet, said.

When the commission enquired about her in-laws, she told that she was happy with them, and also expressed the desire to meet three of her relatives from Shankar's family.

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