Thiruvananthapuram: A mob killing has been reported in Kerala, a state whose people have taken pride in being cautious about acting on the basis of rumours, compared to other Indian states.
The incident that led to the death this week happened on June 24 when a Bengali migrant worker based in Kerala for several years was beaten up by a group of people in Kollam district, suspecting that a hen he had in his bag was a stolen one. Poultry theft had been rampant in the area.
The homicide came to light only this week, when the victim, Manik Roy, 34, died in hospital where he had been admitted following severe pain in the head. A post mortem revealed that internal injuries in the head had led to the death.
Despite his pleas that he had purchased the hen, the gang continued to thrash him. Roy’s relatives got him admitted to a hospital in Anchal.
Even after he left hospital, he was complaining of fatigue and a severe headache. On Sunday, when he went back to work, he collapsed at the workplace and was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead.
Following complaints by Roy’s family members, police conducted an investigation into the incident, and on Tuesday took into custody two men accused of fatally attacking Roy. The two accused were identified as Sasidhara Kurup, 60 and Asif, 23.
Police are on the lookout for more people who were involved in the incident. Roy’s body was taken to Bengal for the final rites.
In March this year, the state had witnessed mob savagery when a tribal youth, Madhu, 27 was beaten to death by a group of people on the suspicion that he had stolen rice and some eatables from a shop.
The incident happened in Attapady, and the youth passed away when he was being taken to hospital.
