Seven men arrested for beating homeless man to death in Kerala’s Palakkad: Police

Seven men from a Dalit settlement in Palakkad, India, have been arrested in connection with the killing of an unidentified man, according to police. The incident occurred in the village of Moolathara, where the group allegedly chased and assaulted the victim with stones and wooden logs, leading to his death. The body was discovered on Sunday morning.

Police initially registered the case as unnatural death, but a postmortem examination revealed that the victim had suffered a brain haemorrhage following the assault. This prompted the police to intensify their investigation. All seven accused are residents of the same Dalit settlement and were reportedly drunk at the time of the incident.

Chittoor Deputy Superintendent of Police M Sasidaran stated that the victims had been seen wandering semi-naked in the area, which may have contributed to the attack. The group reportedly spotted the man on Saturday night while drinking at a toddy shop and pursued him for nearly half a kilometre before assaulting him. The victim reportedly asked for water as he lay dying, but the accused allegedly poured toddy into his mouth.

The police have registered a murder case (BNS section 102) and intend to add charges related to mob lynching after consulting with legal experts. The accused have been remanded to judicial custody for further investigation. This incident comes amid previous cases of mob violence in Palakkad, including the fatal beating of a migrant worker in December 2022 and the assault and subsequent death of a tribal man in 2018 over allegations of stealing food from local shops.