PALAKKAD: The tribal belt of Attappadi here has erupted in protest over the brutal killing of a mentally-ill tribal youth Madhu Chindaki, 30, by a mob that thrashed him on Thursday for stealing rice and chili powder from a shop in Mukkali in Agali police station range. The parents of the murdered youth Mallan and Mallika along with his sisters Chandrika and Sarasa of Kadukamanna tribal colony near Mukkali have started an indefinite sit-in protest in front of Agali police station demanding immediate arrest of all the persons involved in the case.
A large posse of cops led by Thrissur range IG M.R. Ajith Kumar and Palakkad SP Pratheesh Kumar are camping at Agali police station complex where the police station and the offices of CI and DySP are situated. Activist for tribal rights and leader of All-India Kranthikari Kisan Sabha M Sukumaran has also embarked on an indefinite strike in front of the Integrated Tribal Development Project office at Agali.
The relatives of the deceased Madhu said that he was suffering from mental illness and was staying away from the family in Attappadi forests for nearly eight years. They said Madhu used to come out of the forest to the residential areas such as Mukkali, Paakkulam, Kakkupadi and Thavalam to collect food to sustain his life and that he was not a thief as claimed by the mob who allegedly thrashed him to death.
But the police FIR says that he is an accused in different theft case registered in the station. Small quantity of rice, chili powder, some old torches, bundles of beedi, mobile charger where found in the bag found with Madhu which was seized by the mob who forcefully took Madhu from the Attappadi forest to Mukkali on Thursday.
‘My son was mentally unwell’
Madhu’s mother Mallika said that his son had no physical illness but was mentally ill. “He had issues in facing the public and due to the mental illness he was suffering from and that was the reason why he was staying in the forest for some years now. The mob has thrashed him to death after capturing him from forest on Thursday,” she said.
