A case of religious intolerance following a daughter’s marriage to a Hindu has ended in filicide in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu. The accused Marimuthu, a Christian convert, hacked his daughter to death in the early hours of June 30.
The victim, 19-year-old Shalom Sheeba fell in love and married Muthuraj (22) last year once she turned 18. They are both from the same community but follow different religions. Muthuraj is a daily wager and both are from the same village.
Marimuthu’s family had converted to Christianity a few years back. Both the families objected to the couple’s love affair and their inter-faith marriage. This forced the newlyweds to live separately.
Sheeba used to visit her mother once in a while. Marimuthu’s family and friends started laughing at him over his daughter running away and marrying without his consent. Feeling offended, he warned Sheeba against visiting his house.
Last week after attending a Hindu festival that ended late into the night, Sheeba decided to meet her mother. That is when an enraged Marimuthu indulged in filicide. At around 3 am Sheeba reached their home and Marimuthu engaged in an argument that ended when he hacked her on the head and arms with a machete.
Others in the house raised an alarm that alerted the neighbors. The victim was taken to the Tirunelveli Government Medical College where she struggled for many hours. Unfortunately, she gave up in the end and breathed her last.
Police arrested Marimuthu and changed sections from an attempt to murder to Section 302 for murder. The district magistrate remanded him to judicial custody. Muthuraj’s condition or whereabouts remains unknown.
See how superstitous are they! Only scientific education at the grassroots level can eradicate such superstitions and let people survive thru the power of reasoning. What these people forget is that it is mankind itself that came first and then religion which is interpreted differentially by the religious teaches thru the eons.