PALAKKAD: The fifth anniversary of one of the inhuman killings of a tribal youth, Madhu, falls on Wednesday. The final hearing in the case has begun at the Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in Mannarkad. As part of the final hearing on Tuesday, the prosecution presented arguments. This will continue in the coming days. Based on it, the defence counsel will also make their case. Special public prosecutor Rajesh Menon hoped that truth would prevail and justice delivered.
A tribal youth, Madhu of Chindukuru in Attappadi in Palakkad, was lynched by a crowd on February 22, 2018, on the charge that he had stolen some provisions from a shop. The hearing in the case began only after four years, following the intervention of the High Court, which directed that hearings be done without delays.
Madhu was just 27 years old when he was killed. Learned only till the seventh grade, Madhu dropped out of school when his father expired, took up skill training in carpentry under the ITDP programme, and found work in Alappuzha. He left this after a scuffle and returned to Attappadi, where he lived a nomadic life. He used to wander in the plains, hills and forests here, only visiting his house occasionally.
After it was reported that some provisions were stolen from a shop, one person, who frequented the forests to collect wood, informed the locals that there was a man hiding in a forest cave. A group arrived there to find Madhu. They made him carry the provisions, worth just Rs 200, on his head and walk the four kilometres to Mukkali, all the while assaulting him and hailing him with insults. This continued in Mukkali as well until the police arrived half an hour later.
Officials took hold of Madhu and were taking him to the police station when he began vomiting before finally fainting. The post-mortem stated that Madhu’s inner organs were damaged. There was a serious wound behind his head and his ribs were broken. A report with the Judicial Magistrate points out that there were 42 wounds on Madhu’s body.
The accused themselves took photos and videos of the harassment and posted them on social media, which led to an outrage. The police then registered a case and arrested 16 persons in the case. They were also charged under the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act.
Twists and turns
The 3,000-page chargesheet was submitted in court in May 2018. However, there was no permanent judge in the Special Court of SC and ST in Mannarkad then. In the initial stages, the government was not too keen on appointing a special public prosecutor (SPP). Initially, advocate P Gopinath was appointed. But since an office and accommodation facility was not provided, he did not continue. Subsequently, V T Raghunath was appointed. But he took leave and quit in January 2022 citing health issues.
Later, C Rajendran was appointed as the SPP and Rajesh Menon as the Additional SPP as per the request of the family. The case saw many twists and turns with 24 of the 127 Prosecution witnesses turning hostile in the initial stages of the case itself.
The mother of Madhu, Malli and sister, Sarasu approached the Director General of Prosecutions demanding that Rajendran be removed and Additional SPP Rajesh Menon appointed in his place. The permission was granted and C Rajendran resigned in June 2022.