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.
The court had convicted them on Tuesday.
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.
Madhu's family too expressed their dissatisfaction with the punishment given to the convicts and said that it was not enough.
"The sentence is not enough," his mother told reporters outside the court.
His sister too echoed it and alleged failure on the part of the court to impose a higher punishment.
"We are not satisfied with the punishment given. There has been a failure on the part of the court. The court probably did not understand what actually happened, how he was beaten and brought out from the forest. This court was meant to protect our interests.
"If we do not get justice here, where will we have to go for that? The only option we have is to move the higher courts. We will get justice for Madhu, even if we have to go to the Supreme Court for it," she 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.
The detailed judgement is not yet available.
Of the 13, the first accused was convicted for the offence under Section 304 II of IPC and the remaining 12 were additionally held guilty for crimes under Section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery) of the IPC.
The 12 convicts were also held guilty for the offence under Section 3(1)(d) of the SC/ST Act, the SPP said.
The 16th accused in the case was only held guilty for the offence of "assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation" under Section 352 IPC, which carries a punishment which may extend to three months or a fine which may extend to Rs 500 or both, he said.
The remaining two accused in the case were acquitted by the court.
SPP Menon had said on Tuesday, after the conviction, that the case was weakened due to several witnesses turning hostile.
Madhu's mother had said she was not satisfied with the verdict, especially the acquittal of the two accused and the fact that none of the 16 had been convicted for murder.
"I will appeal against this verdict. All of them are guilty," she had told reporters outside the court.
The victim's sister had said she was thankful to the court for convicting 14 of the 16 accused but would appeal against the acquittal of the two persons. She was happy with the outcome, she said, as no one had thought they would be able to carry their fight to gain justice for Madhu this long and till this stage.
"So, I will no longer be disappointed or sad. I know I can take this matter all the way to the Supreme Court, if required. We will go in appeal seeking murder charges (for all 16) and against the acquittal of the two accused.
"I do not believe that my brother has got justice. He will not get justice till all of them are convicted," she had said outside the court.
According to the post-mortem report, Madhu had injuries on the head and bruises all over the body, including broken ribs, as well as internal bleeding.
Madhu, who was said to be mentally ill, had been living in a cave in the forest for the past several months, his family said.
His mother and sister told television channels in 2018 that a group of nearly 10-15 persons had gone to the forest and thrashed him for allegedly stealing food articles from some shops in the forest-fringe town of Agali in Palakkad district.