Kerala Lynching: Was A Man Killed For Visiting Female Friend's House?

On April 4th, in a small village near Muvattupuzha, in Ernakulam district, Kerala, a migrant worker identified as 24-year-old rapper Ashok Das, known by his stage name MC Munnu, was alleged to have been lynched due to an encounter with moral policing vigilantes. Das found himself at the centre of a nightmare when he emerged from a friend's house with a bleeding hand. What started as a visit to a female acquaintance quickly escalated into a terrifying ordeal as Das was confronted by a mob of 50–60 people, who subjected him to a brutal assault.

The Case Details 

As per The Print, preliminary investigations suggest that the incident may have stemmed from moral policing, highlighting the dangers of societal intolerance and the intrusion of vigilante justice into personal matters. The presence of alcohol further escalated tensions, emphasizing the volatile mix of factors that led to the tragic outcome. 

On the evening of the incident, Das visited the woman's house around 5:30 pm and consumed alcohol. While his friend went to work at the hotel, Das remained with the woman, leading to a heated argument. The woman then called the victim's friend, who returned home. During the altercation, Das hit a glass window and injured his hand," a police officer informed ThePrint.

Later, he was confronted by the group outside the building and brutally attacked, resulting in serious internal injuries.  Despite his efforts to flee, Das was overpowered by the mob and brutally beaten before being tied to an iron pole Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries the following day, after he was taken to Kolenchery Medical College for treatment.

The Muvattupuzha police swiftly took action, arresting ten suspects allegedly involved in the lynching. An extensive investigation has been launched, with statements being recorded from the complainant and the female residents of the house. The Deputy Superintendent of Police, in a media statement, confirmed the arrest of the accused and noted the presence of internal injuries as revealed by the postmortem examination. The Kerala Police have invoked Section 174 (unnatural death) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the ten accused following a preliminary investigation.