Kottayam: Neenu, the fiance of Kevin P Joseph killed in a suspected case of honour killing last year, has said in court that her father and brother were behind the gruesome murder.
"They believed that the family name would be maligned if I were to marry Kevin," Neenu said during the hearing in the sensational case at the principal sessions court in Kottayam on Thursday.
“Kevin’s caste was their issue,” said Neenu, the prime witness in the case in a statement to the court. Kevin was a Dalit Christian born to an economically backward family.
She further added that she had been living at Kevin's house by her own will and sought protection for her fiance's family.
"My father and a relative warned me and Kevin that they'll not permit us to live together. They even attempted to forcefully take me from the Gandhinagar police station. The SI at the station also manhandled Kevin," she told the court.
Neenu is the sister of first accused Sanu Chacko and daughter of fifth accused Chacko.
A witness, Santosh, had already testified to the court that he heard Sanu saying that Kevin was abducted because he belonged to a lower caste.
Kevin P Joseph, a 23-year-old Dalit Christian youth, was brutally killed on May 27 2018 by a gang led by Sanu. He had earned the wrath of Neenu's family for going ahead with plans to marry Neenu who belonged to a well-off family despite objection by her parents and brother.
The Kevin murder trial which began in February is expected to be completed in six months as it comes under the category of honour killing.
