‘Keralam, where is your humanity?’ A doctor’s anguished response to yet another mob lynching

Dr. Hithesh Sanker | Photo Credit: special arrangement

“If literacy does not make us more humane, what purpose does it serve?”

Forensic surgeon Hithesh Sanker has posed this painful question following the lynching of an unidentified man near Moolathara dam at Chittur, Palakkad, Keralam, expressing frustration over the recurrence of mob violence in a State that prides itself on literacy, social progress and humanistic values.

The man, reportedly suffering from mental health issues, was allegedly beaten to death by a mob in an isolated area near the dam. His body bore multiple injuries, with evidence of bleeding into the surrounding tissues, Dr. Sanker noted in a strongly worded Facebook post.

“Was there anyone waiting for him? Was there anyone who would listen to his pain?” he asked, drawing attention to the plight of a man whose identity remains unknown.

Dr. Sanker, a forensic surgeon at Government Medical College, Thrissur, was involved in the post-mortem examination of Ram Narayan Baghel, a 31-year-old migrant worker from Chhattisgarh who was lynched at Attappallam, Walayar, in December 2025. At the time, he had said that he had never witnessed such brutality by human beings.