Unhappy she was marrying a Dalit man, Kerala father kills daughter on wedding eve

Cops confirmed that the father, who was inebriated, stabbed his daughter to death following a verbal spat.

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In a shocking case of 'honour' killing in Kerala, a 21-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her father on the eve of her wedding.

Athira, a native of Poovathi Kandi in Areekode, Malappuram, was to get married to Brijesh, an army man from Koyilandy, who she had been dating for many years. Her father, 42 year-old P Rajan, however, was strongly opposed to the alliance for the groom was a Dalit. While Athira's family belongs to Ezhava caste (OBC), Brijesh belongs to Scheduled Caste, said police.

“Athira had already eloped once with the man. However, after her family promised to get her married to him, she returned home. The father too reluctantly gave his nod to the marriage as Athira had kept her word and come back home. All the wedding preparations were in full swing and this was when her inebriated father got into an argument with her and stabbed the girl,” an official from Areekode police station said.

The wedding ceremony was supposed to be held at Brijesh's house in Koyilandy. At the time of the incident, Athira's mother and two brothers were reportedly not at home.

According to the police, when Rajan began attacking her, she tried running away to her neighbour’s house.

“She ran to her neighbour’s house, but her father chased her and stabbed her in their kitchen. The victim was stabbed once, but sustained a heavy injury and passed away,” said the official.

According to reports, Rajan stabbed her once in the chest.

As soon as the victim was taken to the Mukkam KMCT College Hospital, she was declared dead, according to reports. The police arrested Rajan following the incident. Hospital authorities suspect that injury inflicted on the heart lead to the victim’s death

Following this, Rajan even brandished his knife at the neighbours and threatened them before the police arrived.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon and the wedding was scheduled to take place on Friday, said a report in Deccan Herald.

According to reports, the families of the couple had approached the Areekode poice to resolve the issue as the duo insisted on getting married. When the police intervened, Rajan gave his word to get Athira married in the moment. However, he continued to raise opposition to the alliance on returning home.

Athira was working at the dialysis centre of the Manjeri Medical College. Rajan is a painter by profession.