Muthanga verdict: Slain policeman’s family to appeal acquittal, calls judgment a “setback in every way”

K.V. Narayani, mother of slain policeman K.V. Vinod, looks at her son’s photograph at her residence after the Muthanga case verdict. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The family of slain policeman K.V. Vinod has decided to challenge the acquittal of all the accused in the Muthanga land agitation case, describing the verdict as a “setback in every way” after a legal battle that stretched for 23 years.Speaking to The Hindu, K.V. Babu, Vinod’s brother and a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the family would study the detailed judgment of the Wayanad Principal Session Court before filing an appeal in the High Court. He said the verdict had shattered the family’s long-standing hope that those responsible for Vinod’s killing would be punished.“This is a setback in every way. We waited for more than 23 years for a verdict in the killing of his brother, and not even a single accused has been convicted,” Mr. Babu said., adding the outcome raises serious questions about the criminal justice system and the confidence ordinary people could have in it.“If this is what my family has experienced after losing a policeman , one can imagine what an ordinary citizen would think about our system,” he said.‘Family was not informed of the case’s progress’Mr. Babu said he could not identify whether the failure lay in the investigation or the prosecution as the family had never been kept informed about the progress of the case.“I joined the police service as a sub-inspector in 2003, the same year my brother was killed. Even while serving in the force, neither my family nor I had clear information about how the investigation was progressing,” he said.Mr. Babu recalled that before the verdict was delivered, the family had repeatedly sought updates on the case over the years through official channels and applications under the Right to Information Act. “ The only reply we received was that the trial was continuing. We never received any information, official information about where the case stood After such a long delay, one wonders what justice means,” he said.Referring to the connected case, in which four accused including tribal leader M. Geethanandan were sentenced to four years imprisonment, Mr. Babu noted that Ashokan was the only person convicted in Vinod’s murder case. However, Ashokan died before sentencing, leaving no one ultimately punished for the killing.K.V Vinod, then 29, was killed on February 19, 2003, during the police operation against the Muthanga land agitation in Wayanad. He was among personnel from the Kerala Armed Police Fourth Battalion in Kannur, who had been deployed to control the agitation. His family was informed of his death the same evening and his body was brought home the following day for funeral rites.Mr. Babu also recalled that the family had to wage a prolonged legal battle even to secure pension and other service benefits following Vinod’s death.Describing Vinod’s killing as one of the most brutal attacks on a police in Kerala’s history, he said the verdict was especially painful because his father K.V. Kunhiraman, a Peruvannan and a theyyam artist passed away without seeing justice in their son’s murder case.Despite the prolonged legal battle, Vinod’s memory continues to be honored in his village of Koyyam in Chengalai panchayat A library and memorial building bear his name, and an annual remembrance meeting is held at the K.V. Vinod Memorial Library. The Koyyam School-Chengalai Road, where his house and alma mater are located, has also been named after him. Published - July 31, 2026 03:04 pm IST