The widow of the Dalit man, who was murdered in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district for marrying a woman from a higher caste, attempted to commit suicide late on Wednesday. Kausalya tried to end her life by consuming cow dung powder, The New Indian Express reported.
Her in-laws, with whom she has been living since her husband Shankar was hacked to death by three men on a motorbike, took her to Udumalaipettai Government Hospital after she told them she was dizzy because of the dung powder. After she was administered preliminary treatment, doctors declared that she was out of danger. They then recommended she be shifted to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
Locals wipe the floors of their houses using cow dung or cow dung powder during the festival of Sri Kottai Mariamman Kovil, which is being celebrated in the nearby Kolumam village. Although the sale of the poisonous cow dung powder is banned, it is available in most shops in the village.
Kousalya had suffered a severe head injury during the incident on March 13, in which the couple was attacked with sickles in Udumalaipettai town, in plain view of passers-by. Local police have arrested six people in the case, and three others, including Kousalya’s parents, have surrendered and are now in prison. The Madras High Court rejected their bail plea last month.
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