When arrested, neither Subramani nor Vijaya could afford any legal counsel. Thus, when the incident came to light, they were arrested on charges of dacoity and murder, whereas they had just tried to defend their lives.
Vellore: Subramani and Vijaya fought all odds, gave up wealth to get married to each other more than 30 years ago. But one fateful night in 1987 changed their lives forever, as an accidental murder led to them spending 30 years in Vellore jail in separate cells in Tamil Nadu. But now, after serving a jail term, the couple is back together and all set to start a new life.
Here is what happened all these years...
Subramani was from a wealthy family at Natchipalayam village in Tirupur. He fell in love with Vijaya, a folk artiste from Sri Lanka, during a performance in Tamil Nadu. It was the same feeling for Vijaya too. But apart from the two, no one was ready to bless their relationship.
Subramani was disowned by his family, but he chose to live with Vijaya and the couple started living on the roadside. After some years, in 1987, one night, when Subramani and Vijaya were sleeping on the streets in Tirupur, a drunkard allegedly started behaving inappropriately with Vijaya. She resisted it and Subramani tried to get him off her.
This fight led to the death of the man, who was in an inebriated state. Then, neither Subramani nor Vijaya could afford any legal counsel. Thus, when the incident came to light, the couple was arrested on charges of dacoity and murder. They were sent to Vellore central prison and Vellore special prison for women respectively, as they had no one to fight their case.
But according to Times of India, the couple used the counsel of Nalini, a convict in former PM Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to meet each other once in 15 days.
In 2013, Vijaya was released and sent to Home for People with Learning Disabilities, run by the state government. She waited for Subramani there for five years. At last, when Subramani was released on October 6, he straight away went to meet Vijaya, who is said to have run to him like a child and held his hands tightly.
The couple, now in their 60s, has decided to return to Tirupur and start a new life together.
* Image used for representation purpose only
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