Outrage as people take selfies with tribal man before he is 'beaten to death'

A tribal man from the south Indian state of Kerala was allegedly lynched by a mob even as some took selfies.

The gruesome incident took place on Thursday, 22 February, when a group of at least 15 people allegedly approached the victim, identified as A Madhu, who was suspected to be mentally unstable, and accused him of stealing valuables from a local person's house. The mob reportedly beat him severely with sticks before handing him over to police.

However, the 30-year-old man succumbed to his injuries and died inside a police jeep as he was being taken to a Government Tribal Specialty Hospital, The News Minute reported.

Attempt-to-murder cases have been registered against 15 people and after getting the post-mortem report more charges will be framed against the accused, police said. Reports said that some people have been taken into custody.

"They are being interrogated and the arrest will be recorded after verification," a senior police officer told the Press Trust of India.

More than the violence and the alleged lynching, what has angered people are the selfies and videos of the assault that are doing the rounds on the internet. The recordings were reportedly made just before Madhu was attacked with sticks by the mob.

In one of the selfies, the deceased man can be seen tied up using a piece of cloth and his shirt torn, while another man is talking to him as they stand against a rock. The unidentified man who took the photo can be seen smiling at the camera.

In a video, which is also going viral on social media, a group of men can be seen thrashing Madhu and questioning him.

People from all over the country have slammed those responsible for the attack and are demanding justice for the man. Manila C Mohan, a journalist, said in a Facebook post that those "who don't have power won't understand the powerless, they won't understand that the powerless have the right to live. They aren't guilty, but they have the silent pleasure of conducting a murder".

The chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, condemned the incident and ordered a quick investigation into the murder. "Such violence cannot be accepted in a civilised society. It cannot be accepted in anyway," he said in a Facebook post.