PALAKKAD: Seven people have been arrested for allegedly beating a destitute man to death in a suspected mob attack near the Moolathara regulator near Meenakshipuram in Palakkad district. The victim, believed to be around 40 years old, has not yet been identified. According to local residents, he was wandering in the area for the past few days and is believed to have been mentally unstable.
The arrested persons are Karthik, 26, Naveen, 24, Sanjay, 27, Prashanth, 35, Kathiresan, 23, Manikandan aka Gunal, 25, and Sooryaprakash, 22. They hail from the Srambi tribal settlement in Kozhinjampara.
The man’s body was found around 8.30 am on Sunday. An autopsy revealed more than 50 injuries on his body, with internal bleeding in the head identified as the cause of death, confirming that he had died following an assault.
According to the police, the accused told investigators that they had followed the man for around 500 metres before attacking him around 10pm on Saturday. They allegedly kicked and beat him repeatedly even after he fell to the ground. The police said the accused were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
They also claimed that they attacked the man because they were angered by his alleged misbehaviour towards women in the locality. The police examined CCTV footage and other evidence to identify and track down the suspects.
Chittur Deputy Superintendent of Police M Sasidharan, who is leading the investigation, told TNIE: “The accused have confessed that they attacked the deceased under the influence of alcohol as they suspected he would attack women in the area. We have registered a case for murder under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” the officer said.
The accused were produced before the Chittur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.