Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) | An IT employee belonging to a Scheduled Caste has been hacked to death by a youth, allegedly over an inter-caste relationship, police have said.

The 27-year-old victim was employed as an engineer with a software firm in Chennai. He was murdered near a Siddha facility here on Sunday by the accused youth, police said.

The suspect, S Surjith, was arrested on July 28 and remanded.

According to a police officer, both the parents of the accused are sub-inspectors.

A case has been registered against the SI couple and their son Surjith under various sections of BNS and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.

Police investigation revealed that on July 27, the victim Kavin had gone to KTC Nagar to consult the woman, a Siddha consultant, about his grandfather's health condition.

He was accosted by the woman's brother Surjith who invited him home for a discussion. Trusting him, Kavin went along with him. But enroute, Surjith abruptly stopped his two-wheeler, pulled out a sickle and indiscriminately attacked Kavin, police said.

Though Kavin attempted to flee, Surjith overtook him and hacked him to death, police said.