A labourer from Bihar was lynched by a group of people at Kizhissery, near Kondotty, in the district on Saturday. Nine men were arrested in connection with the death of Rajesh Manji, who was working at a chicken farm at Kizhissery.
Police said here on Sunday that it was a case of murder and the postmortem report revealed merciless beating by the men with blunt objects like wooden sticks and plastic pipes. Manji died of multiple internal injuries. He had broken his ribs in the attack.
Those arrested included siblings Mohammed Afsal, Fasil, and Sharafuddin. The others were Mehaboob, Abdussamad, Nasar, Habeeb, Ayoob and Zainul Abid. All of them were from Kizhissery.
Police slapped various charges against them, including murder (IPC 302), wrongful confinement (IPC 342), rioting (IPC 146), and destroying evidence (IPC 201).
Special investigation team
A special investigation team was formed under the leadership of additional superintendent of police (ASP), Kondotty, to inquire into the case. The police said they were looking into all aspects, and were examining different surveillance camera footage from the area.
The incident took place after midnight on Saturday when Rajesh Manji was found lurking near the house of Mohammed Afsal. Suspecting him for a thief, Afsal caught him with the help of his brothers Fasil and Sharafuddin. They tied his hands from behind and beat him with a plastic pipe and a wooden log. Their friends too joined in the attack.
Police said the beating took place between 12 a.m. and 2.30 a.m. When Manji collapsed, they dragged him to a nearby road and informed a social worker named Anwar. Later, the police were called in. The police took Manji to a private hospital at Kondotty, but he died before reaching the hospital.
The body was shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, where the postmortem was performed.
The police took into custody everyone who had gathered at the scene and seized their mobile phones as part of the investigation. They zeroed in on the accused after examining the people as well as camera footage.
The police said the accused had deleted the video footages. One person was arrested for tampering with the video footage of a surveillance camera.
