Kerala: Man assaulted by mob on charges of theft succumbs to injuries

Police have arrested five of the suspects and are on the look-out for a sixth person. The accused have been remanded in police custody.




A man who was brutally assaulted by a mob on charges of theft near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala succumbed to injuries early Monday morning at the Medical College Hospital, police confirmed. The incident took place on December 11.

An officer at the Thiruvallam police station said 30-year-old Ajesh was beaten up by a mob, comprising of a few auto-rickshaw drivers, at his home in Pappanchani after a native of Malappuram district complained that his cell-phone and wallet were stolen by Ajesh. The purported theft took place at the state transport bus stand in Thampanoor.

“When the person whose phone and wallet was stolen gave a description of the thief to a group of auto-rickshaw drivers at the East Fort stand, the latter suspected it to be Ajesh. Although there are no robbery cases against Ajesh, there have been quite a few complaints about him. He’s also addicted to drugs,” said the officer.

The mob of five, including four auto-rickshaw drivers, then rounded up Ajesh and took him to his shanty-like home in Pappanchani where they believed he hid the phone and wallet. The police version is that when they couldn’t find the stolen items, they proceeded to assault him and even heated up a machete to burn his stomach and private parts.

Suspecting that a second accomplice could be present, the mob left in search of him. Ajesh, grievously injured, was found by the locals who informed the local police station. The same day, he was admitted to the Medical College hospital with serious burn injuries. Ajesh succumbed to injuries at 3 am on Monday.

Police have arrested five of the suspects and are on the look-out for a sixth person. The accused have been remanded in police custody. They have been charged with sections 302 (murder), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) among others, the officer confirmed.

In February 2018, a similar incident of lynching of a tribal man by a mob in Kerala’s Attappadi on charges of theft had drawn nationwide outrage. It sharpened public attention on mobs taking law into their own hands in a state otherwise hailed for its progressive social indicators.

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