Wayanad: Four more witnesses have turned hostile in 2018's Madhu lynching case.
The four are Jeep driver Manaf (32nd witness), Ranjith (33rd witness), Manikandan (34th witness), and Anoop (35th witness).
While Anoop retracted the statement he had given to the police, Ranjith argued that he did not know Madhu nor did he see him getting beaten.
With this, the number of witnesses who have defected in the case rose to 20.
Witnesses had been turning hostile since day 1 of the trial. This has left the victim's family without hope.
Meanwhile, the prosecution has sought the strictest action against Sunilkumar, who turned hostile on Wednesday, as he had lied to the court.
The SC/ST(POA) Special Court in Mannarkkad reexamined him on Thursday. The footage, which he said he was unable to recognise Wednesday, was again shown in the court. Sunilkumar recognized some of the scenes.
But the defense lawyers argued that it is not customary to re-examine a defection witness.
In a surprising move, the court ordered authorities to conduct an eye test on Sunilkumar soon after he turned hostile and said he could not recognise the people, including himself, in some footage screened by the court.
Soon after he turned hostile, the Forest Department fired Sunil from his job as a temporary watcher under Silent Valley Division.
In the footage, Sunilkumar was seen standing next to Madhu when the mob caught him. Sunilkumar had told the police that he had clearly seen the accused attacking the tribal youth.
The court declared him hostile after he retracted his earlier statement before the court on Wednesday. The court, however, told him that it could clearly see the visuals screened as evidence. The court then ordered his eye test. He was taken to Palakkad District Hospital for the test. TV channels aired visuals of a visibly tensed Sunilkumar being taken to the hospital.
Madhu was allegedly beaten to death by a mob at Attappadi on February 22, 2018. He was tied up and beaten by a mob, who caught him from a nearby forest, accusing him of serial thefts.
The case got national attention after it was clear that this was indeed a case of lynching.
The police had submitted a 3,000-page charge sheet before the court. There are 122 witnesses in the case.
