Palakkad (Keralam), Oct 14 Seven people have been arrested in connection with the alleged mob lynching of a man whose body was found near a dam in this district, police said here on Wednesday.
Days after the body of the unidentified man was found near the Moolathara dam near Meenaskhipuram, a police investigation revealed that he was suspected to have been killed in a mob attack.
The incident, which allegedly occurred on Saturday, has sent shockwaves through the district. It is the third alleged mob lynching reported in Palakkad in recent years.
Police said the man was found dead under suspicious circumstances near the dam by locals on Sunday morning.
A post-mortem examination at Thrissur Medical College Hospital revealed signs of murder, they said.
The identity of the deceased, who had reportedly been roaming around the village in Keralam bordering Tamil Nadu for some time, is yet to be established, police said.
Police are also investigating in the neighbouring state to establish his identity.
According to Meenakshipuram police, the accused, aged between 20 and 25, allegedly attacked the man with stones and wooden planks while under the influence of alcohol.
A police officer said the deceased had reportedly been sleeping near the house of one of the accused in recent days.
The accused allegedly told police that the man had behaved inappropriately towards some women in the household, provoking them.
They claimed that they had not intended to kill him but had only wanted to drive him away, the officer said.
An altercation reportedly followed, during which the accused allegedly restrained and brutally assaulted the man near the dam. They are also alleged to have pelted him with stones and beaten him with wooden planks.
Police suspect that the deceased had hearing and speech impairments, though this has not been confirmed.
Police had initially registered a case of unnatural death. More serious charges would be invoked after the accused were produced before a court later on Wednesday, they said.
There have been other incidents of alleged mob lynching in the district in the past.
In February 2018, Madhu, a 27-year-old tribal youth from Chindakki Ooru in Attappadi, was lynched by a mob after being accused of stealing rice and other grocery items from a shop.
In another incident, five people were arrested in December 2025 for allegedly beating a Chhattisgarh native to death on suspicion of theft within the limits of the Walayar police station.
(PTI News)
