Mannarkkad: Disappointed with court sentence, the mother and sister of Madhu, the tribal man from Attappady who was beaten to death by a group of men, said on Wednesday.
Madhu's mother Malli expressed her disappointment with the sentence awarded to the convicts by Mannarkad Special Court for cases under SC/ST Atrocities Act.
"I will appeal against this verdict. All of them are guilty," she had told reporters outside the court.
His sister Sarasu echoed the sentiment and alleged failure on the part of the court to impose a higher punishment.
"Is the court for scheduled tribes and scheduled castes siding with the plaintiff or the defendant?," Sarasu asked.
"We did not get justice from a court exclusively meant for us. Who else will provide us justice? Will approach Supreme Court to ensure justice," she added.
"The court has not grasped the tragedy that struck Madhu. The forest is ours. He was taken away from that forest. The thought that tribals can be oppressed should change," Madhu's sister said.
She urged the state government to set up a mental institution in Attappady and said that such an incident should never happen in Kerala.
A special court in Kerala on Wednesday sentenced to seven years imprisonment the 13 people convicted for beating a tribal man to death for allegedly stealing food articles in 2018 in Palakkad district of the state.
Madhu, a tribal man from Attappady, was beaten to death after he was caught and tied up by a group of local people, who accused him of theft on February 22, 2018.
More than five years after the incident, special court judge K M Ratheesh Kumar sentenced them to seven years in jail for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various other offences under the IPC, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rajesh M Menon told reporters.
SPP Menon, however, said that while he was happy with the conviction, the sentences imposed were "not sufficient". "They deserved to get life imprisonment," he said and added that he strongly believes the state will appeal for enhancement of the punishment.
The SPP said that not sentencing the convicts to life term was an "anomaly" in the court's decision. The convicts were also sentenced for varying terms for other offences under the IPC, but as the jail terms have to be served concurrently, they will serve only 7 years, he said.
