A Dalit MLA from the AIADMK party in Tamil Nadu married his 19-year-old Brahmin girlfriend, causing a major uproar among the family members. The girl's father attempted suicide by trying to immolate himself before he was stopped by the police.

The upper caste girl, identified as Soundarya, left her house after her family refused to accept their union. Later, Soundarya and the AIADMK MLA from Kallakuruchi constituency, A Prabhu, got married at the latter's residence on October 9. The girl's father S. Swaminathan, a local temple priest, attempted to immolate himself, alleging that his daughter was abducted by the MLA. The district police, who stopped him, later registered a case against the priest for attempted suicide. "It is a fact that both the MLA and the girl had a relationship. Girl's parents complained that the MLA was in love with her for the past four years (even when she was a minor) while the MLA claims that their affair was hardly four months old," a senior police officer reportedly stated.

Refusing to accept the girl's father's claims, Prabhu released a video along with Soundarya mentioning that he did not abduct her and that the two of them had mutually decided to get married. The girl mentioned in the video, "I and MLA Prabhu have been in love for the past four to six months. Since my parents objected to my relationship with Prabhu, I stormed out of my house and have now married him. The marriage took place with my consent and not because of any threat. I was neither abducted nor threatened." Prabhu had, in fact, sought permission from Soundarya's parents initially and tied the knot only when they refused to accept their relationship.

Meanwhile, Prabhu said in the video, "The girl's family did not accept our relationship, but the wedding took place with the consent of my family members. My wife is an adult and she took the decision consciously. To say I abducted her is absurd. Why should I lie? If I lie, people will find out. And this is the social media age where things can change in just a fraction of second and that is the power of the media. Everyone saw what happened on Monday. It is only because of the allegations we are attending phone calls instead of spending time with each other."