As many as 14 of the 16 accused in the sensational Madhu lynching case were found guilty by the Special Court for SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Mannarkkad on Tuesday.
When 13 of them were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Indian Penal Code Section 304 (ii), one was found guilty of assault under IPC 352. Two accused were exonerated. The court will announce the sentences on Wednesday.
On Tuesday morning, Justice K.M. Ratheesh Kumar pronounced the verdict of a case that was watched by entire Kerala with great anticipation. The police had enhanced security on the court premises as Madhu’s family had expressed concerns about a possible assault.
The judgment came more than five years after Madhu, a 30-year-old tribal youth from Chindakki in Attappady, died after he was attacked by a gang alleging theft.
Madhu was captured from the forest, tied, beaten up and was brought to Mukkali, Attappady, on February 22, 2018. Although he was handed over to the police, Madhu died on the way to hospital.
The court on Tuesday found Husain, Marakkar, Shamsuddin, Radhakrishnan, Aboobacker, Siddeek, Ubaid, Najeeb, Jaijumon, Sajeev, Satheesh, Hareesh, and Biju guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. All of them were on bail and had reached the court to hear the verdict. They were again arrested and herded into jail soon after they were convicted.
Another accused, Muneer, was found guilty of assault and was granted bail by the court. Two of the 16 accused, Aneesh Kunnath and Abdul Kareem, were acquitted by the court as minor charges were slapped on them.
The lawyers of the defendants requested the court to pronounce the sentences on Tuesday itself so that they could move their appeals in a higher court soon. The judge assured them that he would announce the sentences on Wednesday.
Special public prosecutor Rajesh M. Menon expressed happiness at the verdict. However, he said that he was keen to know the sentences to be delivered on Wednesday.
Madhu’s mother Malli, and sister Sarasu said that their fight for justice did not go waste. Expressing happiness at the verdict, they said they would consider going in appeal against the acquittal of Aneesh Kunnath and Abdul Kareem.
The court pronounced verdict in the case on Tuesday after facing many hurdles and witnessing dramatic scenes in the last one year. Out of the 103 witnesses examined by the court, 24 had turned hostile. The witness hostility evoked wider attention to the case and some of the hostile witnesses were re-examined. One of them was even subjected to vision testing. The Forest department dismissed some of the hostile witnesses from service.
Although Madhu died on February 22, 2018, it took more than five years and four special public prosecutors for the case to reach its conclusion. When the first public prosecutor did not take up his job saying payment reasons, the second prosecutor refused to attend on health reasons. The third prosecutor resigned as Madhu’s family demanded his replacement.
Rajesh M. Menon guided the case to its finale amidst fears over continued hostility from witnesses.
