2003 Muthanga land struggle: two decades later, all accused in constable murder case acquitted
Kozhikode The Kalpetta Principal Sessions Court, Wayanad, on Friday (July 31, 2026) acquitted all the accused, including tribal leader M. Geethanandan, in the case related
Kozhikode The Kalpetta Principal Sessions Court, Wayanad, on Friday (July 31, 2026) acquitted all the accused, including tribal leader M. Geethanandan, in the case related to the alleged murder of police constable K.V. Vinod during the Muthanga land agitation in 2003. However, Geethanandan was convicted of criminal conspiracy in a related attempt to murder case. The court observed that it was the second accused, Ashokan, who died during the course of the trial, who had inflicted a wound on Vinod. However, as he died during the course of the trial, the proceedings against him abated, and he could not be convicted. The court found another person, Binu, guilty of attempting to murder another police officer, Abdul Salam. Besides Geethanandan, Rameshan and Anilkumar were also found guilty in the attempt to murder case. The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Pronouncing the verdict, Judge E. Ayyoobkhan noted the prosecution had failed to prove the conspiracy and the case beyond reasonable doubt. The case pertains to events on February 19, 2003, when armed police and forest officials moved into the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary to forcibly evict hundreds of landless indigenous families. The tribal families had occupied reserved forest land under the banner of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS), demanding long-promised land distribution. According to the CBI’s chargesheet, constable Vinod and a forest officer were captured during clashes at Thakarappadi in the Gowdanvayal area. Prosecution lawyers argued that Vinod was dragged into a makeshift shed and subjected to severe physical assault while he was held in illegal captivity by protesters resisting eviction. Though eventually rescued by police forces, Vinod succumbed to critical injuries. The clash also resulted in the death of a tribal protester, Jogi, who was allegedly killed in police firing.
After the case was handed over to the CBI, the agency filed three separate chargesheets, naming AGMS leaders M. Geethanandan and C.K. Janu along with dozens of tribal activists. In the primary case filed at the Kalpetta Sessions Court, the accused were charged mainly under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 363 (kidnapping), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 148 (armed rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The second case, also filed before the Kalpetta Court, was related to rioting, unlawful assembly, taking public servants hostage, confronting law enforcement agencies, and possessing weapons inside the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary. The third chargesheet was filed separately at the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Ernakulam regarding the wider Muthanga tribal uprising, covering charges of arson, forest fires, and related destruction of property. In all, there were a total of nine cases, six of which related to forest offences.
The BriefWire