MANNARKKAD: The Mannarkkad SC/ST Court has found 14 people guilty in the murder of Adivasi youth Madhu, who was lynched by a mob in Attappady. The court also found that the charges of unlawful assembly, causing injury and scheduled tribe atrocities have been proved. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced tomorrow.

The accused found guilty by the court are: first accused Hussain, second accused Marakkar, third accused Shamsudeen, fifth accused Radhakrishnan, sixth accused Abubakar, seventh accused Siddique, eighth accused Ubaid, ninth accused Najeeb, tenth accused Jaijumon, twelfth accused Sajeev, thirteenth accused Satheesh, fourteenth accused Hareesh, fifteenth accused Biju and sixteenth accused Muneer. The court stated that the 14 accused are guilty of culpable homicide. Meanwhile, the court acquitted the fourth accused Aneesh and the eleventh accused Abdul Kareem. The verdict comes five years after Madhu was killed. A huge crowd, including Madhu's relatives, had gathered in front of the court today.

Although it was earlier announced that the verdict will be pronounced on March 18 and later on March 30, it was postponed to April 4 due to the delay in the completion of court procedures. Madhu was lynched by the mob on February 22, 2018, for allegedly stealing rice. Upon finding that Madhu died due to mob lynching, the police arrested 16 persons and booked them for homicide. Although the government appointed VT Raghunath as special prosecutor in 2019, he did not assume charge.

As the trial dragged on, Madhu's family came out demanding a CBI probe. Following this, High Court lawyer C Rajendran was appointed as public prosecutor and Adv Rajesh M Menon as additional prosecutor. However, C Rajendran resigned following the opposition by Madhu's family. Adv Rajesh M Menon is the current special prosecutor.

The trial began on April 22, 2022. Out of the 129 witnesses, 103 were examined while 24 were excluded. Two persons died. 24 witnesses turned hostile. The incident where the witnesses turned hostile led to huge discussions. The trial was completed by March 10.