Agali, Palakkad: All the 16 accused in the lynching of Madhu, a tribal youth of Attapadi, have been arrested.
The police, who had earlier arrested 11 people, picked up five more later on Saturday. All the 16 accused have been slapped with charges of homicide, Palakkad SP said. They will be produced before the court on Sunday.
Meanwhile, forest minister K Raju said that action will be taken against the forest officials if any of them is found to have a role in the crime. He was reacting to the allegation that some forest guards showed the accused the cave where Madhu used to stay.
Madhu's final rites were held in Attappadi in the presence of a huge crowd on Saturday. Though a number of tribespeople blocked the ambulance carrying his body at Mukkali, demanding the arrest of all the accused, they called off the strike after the police read out the details of the arrested accused.
Earlier in the day, the autopsy conducted at Thrissur Medical College Hospital had found that Madu had taken several blows on his head and chest and internal bleeding could have been the cause of death.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for Madhu's family.
The youth was thrashed by local people who accused him of stealing food articles from shops at Agali town on the border of the forest, triggering protests across the state. Though he was rushed to nearby Agali government hospital by the police, he collapsed and died on the way.