After a 33-year-old man was sentenced to death for allegedly killing an elderly man by a group of Savara tribal elders at a kangaroo court in Sitampeta Agency, police have arrested 16 people for the alleged “murder” of a man. is arrested. Manyam district in Andhra Pradesh. The Savara Manyam is a particularly vulnerable tribal group in the district.
Tribal elders allegedly conducted a kangaroo court on May 28 and 29 over the alleged murder of an elderly man, identified as Savara. About 300 locals attended the “court”.
On May 27, Savara Singanna (33), who was said to be mentally unstable, allegedly got into an argument with Savara Padmavati during a wedding in Regulapadu village under Seetampeta police limits. Ms. Padmavati’s father, Gaya, who intervened in the argument, was allegedly beaten to death with a stick by Singanna from neighboring Usirikipadu village.
After the incident, the tribal elders locked Singanna in a room and instructed his family members to appear in the “kangaroo court”.
“The next day, the Savara tribal elders convened a kangaroo court over the alleged murder and passed a verdict, according to which Singanna’s family should exterminate him for the act of ‘murder’. For two days, the elders ‘ coordinated the ‘murder’, until Singanna was killed by his own family,” Palkonda Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Shravani said in a press conference.
The kangaroo court also reportedly passed a verdict stating that Mr Gaya’s last rites would not be performed until Singanna was murdered.
“As per the order of the Kangaroo Court, Singanna’s two brothers and father had to kill him. In the first attempt, Singanna was forcibly given rat poison by the family members, but he survived. Later, she was strangled to death with a rope to enforce the verdict,” Ms Shravani said, according to a series of videos released by the police. The last rites of both the bodies were performed on May 29, a police officer said.
The incident came to light on May 29 through the village secretariat. “We have arrested 16 people, including three members of Mr. Singanna’s family. The rest have been identified as the group running the Kangaroo Court. DNA and forensic tests are being conducted in the case,” Ms Shravani said on Friday.