PALAKKAD: Eleven days after a man suspected to have been beaten to death in a mob attack near the Moolathara regulator was found dead, the Meenakshipuram police have gathered key evidence against the seven accused. However, identifying the victim remains a major challenge.
The accused — Karthik, 26, Naveen, 24, Sanjay, 27, Prashanth, 35, Kathiresan, 23, Manikandan alias Gunal, 25, and Sooryaprakash, 22 — are residents of the Srambi tribal settlement in Kozhinjampara. They have been booked for murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The police have recorded the accused persons’ confessions, recovered the implements allegedly used in the assault and obtained the postmortem and forensic reports. The seven accused remain in judicial custody.
Investigators are yet to establish the victim’s identity despite searches in various parts of Tamil Nadu. The man is believed to have been around 40 years old and from the Madurai-Theni belt. His fingerprints and other details have been cross-checked against official records, including the Gandiva platform, but no leads have emerged.
Legal experts said the evidence could help the prosecution build its case if the investigation is conducted meticulously and the evidence is properly documented and presented in court.
“The prosecution may have sufficient material to file a properly drafted charge sheet. However, establishing the identity of the deceased is crucial. If the police wrongly identify the victim, the defence could exploit the discrepancy and gain an advantage during the trial,” said a leading criminal lawyer in Palakkad.
The body was found around 8.30 am on October 11. The postmortem examination revealed more than 50 injuries, with internal bleeding in the head identified as the cause of death.
According to the police, the accused allegedly followed the man for around 500 metres before assaulting him around 10 pm on October 10. The accused reportedly told investigators that they attacked him because they suspected he would misbehave with women in the locality. The police said the accused were under the influence of alcohol at the time. The victim had reportedly been wandering in the area for several days.
