When mob takes law into its own hands: another man lynched in Keralam’s Palakkad

When mob takes law into its own hands: another man lynched in Keralam’s Palakkad left The Moolathara lynching reflects a recurring pattern—suspicion becomes accusation, and a crowd assumes the authority to deliver punishment. Satheesh Vellinezhi https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/y8ymde/article71612292.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/Violence.jpg Satheesh Vellinezhi Illustration for The Hindu Illustration: Satheesh Vellinezhi Spotlight The brutal lynching of an aurally challenged, unidentified man near the Moolathara dam in Keralam’s Palakkad has once again shaken the conscience of society. Abdul Latheef Naha speaks to investigators, psychiatrists and forensic experts to understand how did a homeless man become the target of a group that took it upon itself to punish him and such incidents are recurring. Palakkad The flesh looked pounded. Contusions piled upon contusions. As forensic surgeon Hithesh Sanker examined the battered body that was laid on the post-mortem table, suspicion gave way to a grim realisation—this was no ordinary death. The man had been lynched.