Kochi: A Kerala court on Tuesday gave death sentence to 15 people for killing BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in 2021. All the convicts were members of the Popular Front of India. They were convicted on January 20.
The prosecution said they were part of a trained killer squad who murdered the victim in front of his mother, wife and child. The convicts were identified as Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Mohammad Aslam, Salam, Saffaruddin, Abdul Kalam, Manshad, Jaseeb Raja, Navas, Sameer, Nazir, Zakir Hussain, Shaji and Shernas Ashraf.
Who was Ranjith Sreenivasan? All you need to know about the case
Ranjith Sreenivasan was the state secretary of the BJP OBC Morcha. He was 40 years old.
He was hacked to death on December 19, 2021, in Vellakinar in Alappuzha town. His family witnessed the crime.
Sreenivasan’s killing was seen as retaliation for the murder of SDPI state secretary KS Shan on the previous day by alleged RSS members in the Alappuzha district.
They also assaulted Ranjith’s mother, sister.
Also read: Ranjith Sreenivasan murder: 15 PFI workers accused of killing BJP leader in front of family get death sentence
According to the prosecution, there were 56 gashes on the deceased’s body.
The court had found eight people being involved in the case directly. Four others came to the spot with weapons along with the assailants — they prevented the victim from escaping and let others enter the house after hearing his screams.
Reacting to the verdict, the family of Sreenivasan had expressed hope that the guilty would be given the maximum punishment.
The BJP leader’s murder occurred just hours after SDPI leader K S Shan was killed by a gang on the night of December 18 while he was returning home in Alappuzha.
With inputs from PTI