In Palakkad, Kerala, a 31-year-old migrant laborer from Chhattisgarh was beaten to death on false suspicion of theft. The victim suffered more than 80 injuries. Five people have been arrested in this case and the Human Rights Commission has ordered an investigation.
A 31-year-old migrant laborer from Chhattisgarh was beaten to death by a group of locals in Kerala’s Palakkad district on false suspicion of theft. The incident took place near Walayar and there is widespread anger among people after disturbing videos of the attack surfaced online. The victim has been identified as Ramnarayan Bhayer, who had come to Kerala in search of work just four days ago. Instead of help, he faced a violent mob attack. alert, The video below may disturb you…
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The victim Ramnarayan Bhayer was a resident of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.
Ramnarayan Bhayer was a resident of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. He was living in Kanjikode in Palakkad after coming to Kerala to find employment. According to his family, he could not find work and was planning to return home.
A relative said that Bhayer was new to the area and was unaware of the local roads. \”He had lost his way and reached that place by mistake. He had no criminal record,\” the relative told reporters. Bhayer is survived by his two children aged eight and ten.
Police initially said he was from Jharkhand, but later corrected the information and confirmed that he was from Chhattisgarh. The incident took place at Attapallam East near Walayar on the evening of Wednesday, December 17, police said. Bhayar was accused of allegedly being involved in a theft in Kizhkeattapallam. Local residents claimed that around 3 pm, Bhayer entered several houses allegedly in an attempt to steal. An argument followed, during which he was attacked. Police said that as per the time recorded in the FIR, the attack took place before 7.40 pm. During the attack, Bhayer was brutally beaten with sticks. He suffered serious injuries and later collapsed after vomiting blood.
Delayed medical help and death
After the attack, Bhayer was reportedly left on the roadside for about 4 hours. Police later took him to Palakkad District Government Hospital around 4.30 pm, where his condition worsened. He died from his injuries later that night. The delay in providing medical help has raised serious questions and people’s anger over this incident has increased further. There were shocking revelations in the postmortem report. Bhayer had more than 80 injuries on his body from head to toe. Reports confirmed that he died from severe assault and excessive bleeding caused by head injuries. The report also states that Bhayer was drunk at the time, but had not committed any theft, which directly contradicts the allegations that led to the attack.
Arrest and legal action
Police initially detained around 10 people after videos of the attack went viral. On Friday, police reportedly confirmed that five people have been formally arrested in connection with the crime. The arrest was recorded late Thursday night. A case of murder has been registered against all the accused under the Indian Judicial Code. He was produced in a court and sent to judicial custody. Police investigation is ongoing.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered an investigation. The commission has directed the Palakkad district police chief to submit a detailed report within 3 weeks. The murder has revived memories of the 2018 lynching of Madhu, a tribal youth from Attappady who was beaten to death by a mob on charges of theft. That case also shook the country. Later, 13 of the 14 accused were sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh each. This latest incident has once again raised concerns over mob violence, safety of migrants and justice for the poor.