Thiruvananthapuram: No forest official had any role in the lynching of adivasi youth Madhu, as per a report submitted by principal chief conservator of forest (vigilance) Anirud Kumar Dharni to head of forest force P.K. Kesavan. The allegation that a jeep belonging to the forest department accompanied the mob which lynched Madhu out of the forest was false, he said. It was a person named Marakkar who gave information about the cave in which Madhu lived.
Marakkar was the truck driver of the person who took the contract to cut teak from the forest. Marakkar had given statements to the police about it, said the report. The CCTV of the forest department has shown visuals of Madhu being brought out of the forest. The hands of Madhu were not tied then. He was also not beaten up then. The assault on Madhu might have happened afterwards, the report said.
