He stole food because he was hungry.
He was beaten up and tied. Onlookers took selfies with him.
He died soon after.
#Kerala: Postmortem of the tribal man beaten up in Palakkad’ Attappadi on Thursday confirms that he died of the trauma caused by the torture, it also confirms he was beaten up & had internal injuries & injuries on his head & back; 2 people have been arrested in this connection.
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2018
This tribal youth’s story from Kerala is a brutal reminder of how low humans can stoop.
The incident evidently sent shock waves across the country, with people expressing their utter disbelief at the inhumane treatment meted out to the man.
God’s disowned this country! https://t.co/p0CYwdiZEF
— Ram Subramanian (@VORdotcom) February 23, 2018
#rangdebasanti2.0 – a poor tribal in Kerala gets beaten to death for stealing food- where the F_ _ K are the Neerav modi & the Mallaya’s , who stole thousands of crores is this The India we live in where punishment is only for the poor
— Rakeysh Mehra (@RakeyshOmMehra) February 23, 2018
Madhu stole 1 kg rice. A mob of Ubaid , Hussain and Abdul Kareem lynched the poor tribal man to death. This is a disgrace to a civilised society and I feel ashamed that this happens and kuch farak nahi padta. pic.twitter.com/LXSnjY6sF0
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 24, 2018
Reading about the death of a tribal in Kerala for stealing a kg of rice.Horrible on many layers that he had to steal a kg o rice & that he could be lynched for that.Just too tragic.And hope culprits who killed him are caught and punished
— Rana Safvi رعنا राना (@iamrana) February 24, 2018
According to a PTI report, the centre has sought report from the state government over the matter, and now the Chief Minister has announced a monetary compensation for the family.
The Government of Kerala has announced ₹10 lakhs for the family of the tribal youth, Madhu, who was killed in a mob attack in Palakkad. CM has given directions to the Chief Secretary to disburse the amount forthwith.
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) February 24, 2018
Many on Twitter however feel that the money is not enough and ironically, it was the lack of it that had killed him in the first place. Will it help bring him back? Sadly, no.
Paradoxically when alive he was not worth Rs. 30-40 (1kg rice), after losing precious life he is worth Rs. 10lkh.
— Prasanjeet (@prasanjeet_TNIE) February 24, 2018
He didnt have a fistful of rice when alive, now state govt gives 10 lacs when dead…
— Gurunath B (@GurunathB75) February 24, 2018
It’s not Inough Mr @CMOKerala sir culprit should hang in Public
— Mohammed Uneis (@mmuneis) February 24, 2018
It should be taken from the convict not from the govt treasury .better you give job to the family members and .empower all those live marginalised areas …
— ArulRaj MR (@MrArulraj) February 24, 2018
According to reports, two people have been arrested so far, while 10 have been taken into custody.
The story will and should haunt us for a long time to come. We valued a ‘thing’ over a living being. We killed him because he stole something he could not afford. Who have we become?
