Unhappy with the sentence pronounced against the convicts in the murder of her brother Madhu, Sarasu, a tribal woman from Kerala’s Attappadi, said that the family would approach higher courts, even the Supreme Court if necessary, for justice. Madhu’s murder had shocked Kerala five years ago, when photos and visuals of the 30-year-old tribal man being tortured by a mob had spread on social media. Of the 16 accused, 14 were pronounced guilty by the special court for Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes in Mannarcaud, Palakkad, on Tuesday, April 4.
The next day, April 5, 13 convicts were sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of more than Rs 1 lakh each. The 14th convict was sentenced to three months of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500.
“Madhu lived in the forest. We are a people who depend on the forest for our livelihood. It is from the forest that Madhu was taken and killed. He was beaten up by outsiders,” Sarasu said, a little after the sentence was pronounced on Wednesday morning.
We are unhappy with the sentence and did not receive the justice we had expected. This is our court — a court for SC/ST persons, and yet, we did not get justice. The court has not understood the case. We will ask for government assistance to fight this in higher courts. We will also ask the government to set up mental health care facilities in Attappadi, so that no one else will have to go through what Madhu did,” Sarasu said.
Madhu was suffering from mental health issues when he was accused of stealing food and beaten to death by a mob in February 2018. The perpetrators also shot photos and videos of the attack and circulated it. After a case was registered, the accused men were out on bail within months. The trial of the case began last year.
“These four years had really helped them turn the case in their favour. In these years, no political party, organisation, or government had stood by us. The accused men thought that we were helpless, that there was no one to help us understand. They should know that they are wrong. People can’t just push Adivasis around and do to them what they like. We will not allow them to oppress us anymore," Sarasu said.
She also expressed her displeasure at witnesses turning hostile. She however noted that the family received a lot of support in the latter stages of the case and its trial. "The prosecution has tried hard for us to get justice,” she said.
Watch: Sarasu’s interview with TNM last year