Kerala tribal man beaten to death, confirms autopsy; 16 charged with murder

Palakkad: Two days after a "mentally unstable" tribal man was beaten to death for theft in Kerala's Palakkad district, postmortem reports on Saturday confirmed that the man had died of trauma caused by the torture.

It also confirmed that he was beaten up and had internal injuries and injuries to his head and back.

BJP workers staged protest in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram with a symbolic body, over death of the tribal youth.

Sixteen people have been arrested and charged with sections of murder. They will be produced in court on Sunday.

Kerala government will provide Rs 10 lakh to the family of the tribal youth.

The tribal man, suspected to be mentally unstable, was beaten to death by locals who accused him of stealing food articles from some shops at forest-fringe town Agali near Palakkad, triggering protests across the state on Friday.

Tribals and human rights activists staged protests in various parts of the state after photos and visuals of the fatal attack went viral on social media besides being telecast by TV channels.

Also Read: Selfie craze: Locals click while mentally unstable Kerala man tied, beaten to death

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident, describing it as a "blot on Kerala's progressive society".

The deceased was identified as Madhu, hailing from Kadukumanna settlement of Attappady, one of the largest and most backward tribal hamlets in the state, police said.

Some television channels aired visuals purportedly showing people taking selfies with Madhu with his hands tied.

Several ministers condemned the incident and called for exemplary punishment for the accused.