With the last words of the tribal youth allegedly beaten to death by a gang of persons at Agali in Attappady suggesting brutal attack, the police have slapped murder charge on two of the seven persons held in connection with the incident.
“They kicked me several times and beat me up. They also showered abuses on me calling me a thief,’’ Madhu, the 27-year-old youth of Kadukumanna hamlet in Attappady, is quoted in the First Information Report (FIR) as having told the police personnel before collapsing and breathing his last in the jeep that took him to the nearby government hospital.
The FIR names local people Hussain, Mathachan, Manu, Abdul Rahman, Abdul Latheef, Abdul Kareem and A.P. Ummer as the persons who had brutally beat up Madhu. While handing Madhu over to the police, they had also handed over a small bag of rice claiming it had been stolen by Madhu from a shop at Mukkali.
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According to Inspector General of Police (Thrissur Zone) M.R. Ajith Kumar, who is overseeing the investigation, search is on for eight others who had allegedly formed part of the mob that tracked Madhu down on Thursday evening before tying him up and thrashing him for several hours. The angry mob had beaten up Madhu badly before handing him over to the police.
Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes A.K. Balan said the government had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the sequence of events which led to the brutal incident. The Mannarkkad Judicial First Class Magistrate would conduct the magisterial probe. He would visit Kadukumanna on Saturday to console the family of Madhu and promised financial compensation to his mother and sister, Mr. Balan said.
The National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Kerala State Human Rights Commission and Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes demanded detailed reports from the police about the incident.
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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident and said efforts were on to avoid such incidents recurring in future.
State Police Chief Loknath Behera termed the incident as “extremely unfortunate.” He said the trend of vigilantism was prevalent in society. He said people often took it upon themselves to enforce the law.