synopsis

The verdict in the sensational Attappadi Madhu lynching case in 2018 was adjourned to April 4 on Thursday, by a special court in Mannarkkad, Kerala, for trying offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  
 

Palakkad: The verdict in the sensational Attappadi Madhu lynching case in 2018 was adjourned to April 4 on Thursday, by a special court in Mannarkkad, Kerala, for trying offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  

The 30-year-old tribal youth was brutally lynched on February 22, 2018, in Palakkad district’s Attappadi, for stealing rice from a grocery shop. A special investigation team filed a 3,000-page charge sheet in May 2018, named 16 persons as accused, and charged them with murder and offences under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Meanwhile, Madhu's family responded to the media stating that they hope to get justice. His mother and sister stated that they had fought hard for justice and had complete faith in the judicial system.

The Mannarkkad Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Court announced the date of the verdict while considering the case on Thursday. The trial in the case was completed in court five years after the horrific incident. The post-mortem report said the cause of death was a head injury and internal bleeding.

There are 16 accused in the case, all of whom are from the Attappady neighbourhoods of Mukkali, Anamooli, and Kallamala. 100 out of the 129 witnesses were questioned. As many as 24 of them turned hostile during the trial. There were also instances of defection, which continued despite the appointment of Rajesh M Menon as Special Prosecutor replacing Adv C Rajendran, a situation where the prosecution could not see or speak to witnesses.

With the implementation of the Witness Protection Act, the prosecution was able to prevent defection to some extent. 

The prosecution has expressed confidence that the accused will get the maximum punishment possible if found guilty. On the other hand, the defence counsel is making every effort to have the accused acquitted.