Chargesheet filed in Walayar mob lynching case

Palakkad: Crime Branch on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against eight accused in the Walayar Attappallam mob lynching case, wherein a Chhattisgarh native was allegedly beaten to death after mistaking him for a Bangladeshi national.

The chargesheet was submitted before Mannarkkad SC/ST court in connection with the Dec 17, 2025, murder of Ram Narayan Baghel (40). According to investigators, the accused attacked and killed Baghel on suspicion of being a foreign national.

The 2,704-page chargesheet, prepared by a team led by crime branch DSP Gopakumar, includes scientific and digital evidence. The case has been registered under various provisions, including those related to atrocities against scheduled caste and scheduled tribe persons.

Of the nine accused originally named in the case, charges have been filed against eight. One accused, Vinod Kumar (54) of East Attappallam, was found hanging near his residence on April 8 after being released on bail.

The chargesheet describes the incident as a clear case of mob lynching, stating that the victim, who had no prior connection with the accused, was deliberately targeted and assaulted to death. The remaining accused — Anu, Prasad, Murali, Ananthan, Vipin, Jagadeesh Kumar, Shaji and Rajesh — were granted bail by court in Feb.