The Kerala Dalit Federation has demanded the death penalty for those involved in the killing of Madhu at Attappady. The federation urged the State government to offer ₹25 lakh as compensation to the family of the tribal youth who was beaten to death and also a government job for one of its members.
A meeting of the federation held in Kozhikode on Monday, protesting against the murder of the tribal youth, also demanded a probe into the allocation of funds for the welfare of tribal people in the Agali-Attappady region.
“They [perpetrators] have been propagating the video of the attack as if they have done a brave deed, which is despicable. To avoid incidents like this in the future, the culprits should be given the death penalty,” Federation State president P. Ramabhadran said. It also sought action against officials of the Forest Department who had allegedly helped the mob capture Madhu alleging theft.
Mr. Ramabhadran highlighted the need for auditing government schemes for tribespeople and proper implementation of rules to protect members of scheduled tribe communities.
“There is no need for new laws for the protection of tribal people. What we have are strong enough. But those who implement them have failed,” he said. However, the federation clarified that the protest was not against the government, but against the system that did not change.
Mr. Ramabhadran also urged the Dalit community to exercise restraint on social media.
“There is no point in blaming the whole Muslim community for the crime committed by some followers of the religion. The Dalit community has always been in good terms with the Muslim community,” he said, adding that the online attack on celebrities on the issue was also uncalled for.
