Chennai, Aug. 25 -- A 23-year-old Dalit youth was hacked to death in a suspected honour killing in Tamil Nadu's Chengalpattu district.

The assailants, identified as Manikandan, Ezhumalai, Nantheesh, and Gautam, allegedly used machetes to attack Praveen, a resident of Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu, on the night of August 16. He succumbed to his injuries on August 20 at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai.

Police arrested all four accused and sent them to judicial custody on August 17. Authorities launched a search operation for the fifth accused, who is on the run.

Several reports indicate that Ezhumalai is a member of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and that his daughter, Ashwathi, had been romantically invo...