Attappady lynching case victim Madhu’s mother Malli will stage a day-long hunger strike in front of the District Collectorate here on Monday in protest against the government appointing senior lawyer K.P. Satheesan as special public prosecutor to handle the case in the High Court.
The government had appointed Mr. Satheesan as special public prosecutor, ignoring the demand of Malli and the Action Council seeking justice for Madhu for the appointment of such lawyers as Rajesh M. Menon, Jeevesh and C.K. Radhakrishnan.
It was Mr. Menon who brought conviction for 14 of the 16 accused at the Special Court for SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mannarkkad, which tried the case. The accused have moved the High Court. And the government’s move by appointing Mr. Satheesan as the special public prosecutor has raised serious suspicions.
Madhu’s mother had met the government officials, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and requested that Mr. Menon and others be appointed as prosecutors in the High Court.
“Although the government said that it was with Madhu’s family several times, the appointment of Mr. Satheesan has raised serious doubts about its sincerity,” said V.M. Marsan, chairman of the Action Council.
He said that Malli was forced to launch an agitation as they were sure about the government intention to destabilise the case with the appointment of Mr. Satheesan. They said that they would intensify the agitation if the government did not heed their demand.
The trial court at Mannarkkad had sentenced 13 of the accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment on April 5, 2023, 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.
As many as 14 of the 16 accused were found guilty under various sections of Indian Penal Code and the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. When 13 of them were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC Section 304 (ii), one was found guilty of assault under IPC 352. Two were exonerated.
The convicts have appealed the High Court against the verdict. The government is opposing this appeal and is seeking a more stringent punishment for them.
However, the action council alleged that the government was trying to help the convicts escape the punishment by appointing a special public prosecutor of its choice.
