MADURAI: The mother of a Scheduled Caste youth, V Gokulraj of Salem, who was allegedly murdered by a group of caste Hindus in 2015, has moved an appeal before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court against the acquittal of five persons accused in the case.
Gokulraj was kidnapped by a gang at a temple in Tiruchengode in Namakkal on June 23, 2015, when he spoke to a caste Hindu girl who studied in his college. He was beheaded and the body was found on the railway track the next day.
In March this year, the Special Court for SC/ST Cases in Madurai found ten persons, including Theeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai founder S Yuvaraj, guilty in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
However, it acquitted five other accused, V Shankar (31), S Arul Senthil (42), P Selvakumar (50), S Thangadurai (38), and P Suresh (44). Challenging the acquittal of these five persons, Gokulraj’s mother Chitra has now preferred an appeal.
A Bench of justices PN Prakash and R Hemalatha on Tuesday condoned the delay in filing the appeal and permitted to number it. Meanwhile, the CB-CID’s petition against the acquittal was adjourned by the Bench. Appeals filed by the 10 convicts, challenging their conviction and sentence, are also pending before the high court.