Seven get life term for lynching youth

Seven men, who were found guilty of lynching a Nemom resident in 2016, were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court on Thursday.
Image used for representational purpose only.
Image used for representational purpose only.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seven men, who were found guilty of lynching a Nemom resident in 2016, were sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment by Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court on Thursday. Karakkamandapam natives Ansakeer, 28, Noufal, 27, Arif, 30, Ashar, 26, Ashiq, 25, Attukal native Sanal Kumar aka Malik, 27, and Nemom native Habeeb Rahman, 26, were awarded the punishment by judge S Subhash, who also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the convicts.

The failure in payment of the fine will result in one more year incarceration, said public prosecutor M Salahudeen. Rafeeq, a 24-year-old youth, was lynched in a macabre manner near Karakkamandapam by a group of men during night time.

Rafeeq and his men had hacked a relative of Ansakeer an hour prior to the murder. Rafeeq was murdered in retaliation to that. The group led by Ansakeer chased Rafeeq along the National Highway and caught hold of him at Thulavila. The group thrashed the victim using casuarina poles and dragged him along the road.

All the accused were arrested by Nemom police within a day. Though Nemom Inspector Dileep Kumar Das had conducted the initial probe and filed the charge sheet, the victim’s father approached the High Court alleging that the probe was not conducted properly.

Following this, on the basis of the High Court order, the case was re-investigated by a team led by Fort Assistant Commissioner J K Dinil. The procecution examined 47 witnesses, produced 54 documents and 26 material evidence to prove the case.

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