The Special Court for SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mannarkkad, trying the lynching of Madhu, a tribal youth from Attappady, has completed the hearing. The court is likely to pronounce a verdict soon.
It was on February 22, 2018, that Madhu, 27, from Kadukumanna tribal hamlet, near Mukkali, in Attappady, was tied and beaten up by a group of men on charges of alleged theft. They handed him over to the police, but Madhu died on the way to hospital. The cause of the death was internal injuries he suffered from the beating.
A 3,000-page charge-sheet filed by the police found 16 accused in the case. As many as 127 witnesses were examined for the prosecution and six witnesses for the defence. Out of the 127 witnesses, 24 turned hostile and two others died. As many as 79 witnesses testified in support of the prosecution. Four witnesses who turned hostile were dismissed from service by the Forest department.
