Chennai/UNI: In a horrific incident, a minor boy hacked his love-lorn elder sister to death in a suspected case of honour killing at Thalaiyuthu in the southern Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

The incident took place late on Tuesday night and it came to light only yesterday.

The girl was in a relationship with a Scheduled Caste youth, in Rajavallipuram area in Tirunelveli and the boy, after committing the murder, walked himself into the police station and surrendered for committing the offence and confessed it. .

Police sources said the girl A.Thangathai (20), working in a private company in the SIPCOT industrial estate at Gangaikondan, had been in love with a fellow colleague, who hailed from Scheduled Caste community.

The girl's family came to know about her relationship when their relative spotted the couple in a movie theatre recently.

This led to a quarrel in the house and Thangathai went missing on Monday night.

The family lodged a complaint with the Thalaiyuthu police station on Tuesday and the police traced her the same day. The girl claimed she was at her friend’s place that night.

"The police offered to admit her in a Government home but she chose to return with her  parents," Inspector General of Police (South Zone), K.S. Narenthiran Nayar, was quoted as saying.

When she was at home, her 17-year old brother picked up an argument, which later became more intense. In a fit of rage, he hacked her to death.

"In a bid to avoid any further repercussions and to ensure safety of her lover, police provided him security," Narenthiran said.

A case has been registered and the body of the girl was shifted to the Tirunelveli Medical College hospital for post-mortem.

Following the surrender, the boy was arrested and sent to judicial remand. Being a minor he was lodged in a juvenile home.

Further investigations are on, police said.

It may be noted that the southern districts of Tamil Nadu are prone to caste-based honour killings and recently a brother and sister siblings were attacked in a school, with the sensational murder of a dalit youth Sankar a few years ago having dominated the headlines.

The alleged murder, in a honour killing of Gokulraj, a dalit in Namakkal district also created uproar in the state.

The key accused Yuvaraj, who is from the dominant Gounder caste, was convicted by the court for abducting and murdering Gokulraj in 2015 on the suspicion that he was in love with Swathi, a woman from Yuvaraj's community.

Gokulraj was beheaded and his body was found on a railway track in Namakkal.