Twenty-one years into the Muthanga tribal agitation that culminated in police firing that claimed two lives, the accused tribespeople are still entangled in legal proceedings.
The trial proceedings have been dragging on in various courts for the last two decades. Eleven accused have passed away. The deceased were dropped from the list of accused and proceedings were initiated against the others.
The tribespeople are facing charges of murder, attempt to murder, trespass, rioting, arson, unlawful assembly and preventing the government officials from discharging their duty among other charges.
The 21st anniversary of the incident, which is considered as a watershed event in the history of tribal agitations for land in Kerala, falls on February 19.
The 49-day-long protest led by Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha against the delay in allotting land ended up in violent protests and police firing on February 19, 2003, killing a tribesman and a police personnel. The protestors belonged to extremely backward tribal communities – Paniyar, Adiyar, Kattunaikar and the Ooralies.
The CBI filed three chargesheets in the case, including two in the Principal District and Sessions Court, Kalpetta, and one at the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court (CJM), Ernakulam. The trial in the murder case, which has 46 accused, will resume on March 4, said Arun K. Antony, the earlier CBI prosecutor in the case.
The proceedings in the CJM court on charges of arson, unlawful assembly and rioting case, which has 53 accused, are yet to gather momentum. Only five prosecution witnesses out of 114 could be examined in the last 20 years, said S. Krishnakumar, the defence lawyer for 52 accused in the case.
T. M. Rasheed, the counsel for the tribespeople, said the court proceedings have of late gathered momentum. So far, 30 witnesses have been examined. The examination of the Investigation Officer will begin early next week, he said.
Fighting on
C. K. Janu, the leader of the protest, still holds her ground and is determined to continue the agitations for the rights of her people. “The stand of the protestors adopted two decades ago is still valid and just,” she asserted.
However, fighting the legal battle has not been an easy task for her.
“The tribals who are living in penury pool money from their meagre earnings for the case. While some would contribute ₹100 at a time, some others donate even less. There are a few unemployed people who are unable to contribute money. Yet, we are determined to continue the fight,” she said.
