Kerala Attapadi Madhu Lynching Case: 13 Accused Awarded 7 Years Rigorous Imprisonment By SC/ST Special Court For Death Of Mentally Challenged Tribal Man

The Mannarkkad Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has sentenced 13 out of the 14 accused found guilty of lynching a mentally challenged man named Madhu who belonged to the Kurumba tribe, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

The 13 accused have also been fined an amount above Rs 1 lakh.

They were found guilty of charges under IPC 304(2) for culpable homicide, IPC 326 for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, IPC 367 for kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Two of the total 16 accused were acquitted by the court.

Muneer, the 16th accused in the case, was sentenced to three months in prison and fined Rs 500. He would be released after payment of the fine because he had completed the duration during his remand period.

The 16 accused have been identified as Hussain, Maraikkar, Shamsudeen, Aneesh, Radhakrishnan, Abubacker, Siddique, Ubaid, Najeeb, Jaijumon, Abdul Karim, Sajeev, Satheesh, Hareesh, Biju and Muneer. Aneesh and Abdul Karim were acquitted by the court.

Madhu used to live in a cave away from his family. The accused brought him out and beat him up in front of the public at Attapadi in Palakkad district. They said that Madhu used to regularly steal from shops in the area.

He died while he was being taken to the hospital by the police.

According to the post-mortem report, Madhu had injuries on the head and bruises all over the body, including broken ribs, as well as internal bleeding.

People were outraged because the mob took selfies while thrashing him.

According to the Kerala Institute for Research Training and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Kurumbas are among the five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) in Kerala that make up five per cent of the state's tribal population. They mainly live in the Attapadi block of Palakkad district.

Also Read: When It Comes to Scheduled Tribes’ welfare, Kerala’s Record Is Dismal