Chennai, July 29 -- A 27-year-old Dalit IT professional was allegedly murdered by the family of a woman he was in a relationship with in a suspected case of hate crime in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district, police said on Monday, adding that they have detained the 24-year-old accused.

The incident took place on Sunday evening when the victim, Kavin Selva Ganesh, had gone to a clinic in Tirunelveli town to meet his schoolmate and suspected girlfriend, S Subhashini, who worked there as a practitioner of ancient Siddha medicine, to consult her regarding his ailing grandfather's treatment.

The accused, Surjit, is Subhashini's brother and son of sub-inspectors - Saravanan and Krishnakumari - who are attached to a battalion in Manimuthar in Ti...