Five people who were part of a crowd that beat up a nomadic woman and her children at Malapuram two weeks ago have been ordered to pay Rs 15,000 each as compensation to her. 

The State Human Rights Commission issued the order on Thursday after a sitting held at Tirur where the statements of the victims and senior police officials were taken. The incident which evoked shades of  the ruthless “instant justice” being delivered in Bihar happened in a busy textile shop along the Edappal_ Kuttipuram road on October 7.  After a woman who was shopping complained that her child’s anklet had gone missing,  workers and onlookers reportedly got hold of a gang of  the vagrant women.

The incident evoked sharp reactions from women's organisations and human rights activists. The police later got into the act after the incident hit headlines. It was later discovered that the woman was not pregnant. By ruling that the compensation amount will have to be borne by those accused of assaulting the women, the commission has cleared the police of any blame. The accused were identified from the video images shown by TV channels. The women are now in police protection at a rescue home.