A middle-aged man was beaten to death in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Sunday night after he was returning from a house “under suspicious circumstances “. Police said initial probe indicated that the murder was an outcome of moral policing of a gang.

Police identified the victim as Prabhakaran, 55, who hails from Cherpulassery police limits in Palakkad. His body was found in a farm land on Monday morning.

Police said a group of people had questioned Prabhakaran on last night when he was coming down from a house, which was about one km away from his residence. The gang nabbed him and thrashed him severely, leading to his death. Before leaving the scene of crime, one of the gang members informed the victim’s family member about the incident and asked him to take Prabhakaran away. Although a search was launched last night, the body was found on Monday morning only. Four persons, living near the house of the woman, were taken into custody.

Incidents of moral policing by people, police and local media have been on the rise in Kerala. Two weeks back, a police constable was nabbed by a group of people from the house of a woman in Kottayam, on the charges that he used to have lengthy talks with her. The gang waited outside the house and pounced on the constable when he reached the woman’s house.

On Valentine’s Day, Kochi city police raided hotels in the city to recover drugs from participating youths. But the raid drew nothing.

During the last Diwali celebrations, Kerala chief secretary E K Bharath Bhooshan had hosted a party for IAS and IPS officers from North India. A few TV channels had found fault with the party and went to the extent of reporting that the chief secretary had a boat cruise with “his wife.” They showed visuals of officers coming for the party.

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