The Mavelikara Additional District Session Court-I on January 20 convicted 15 accused in connection with the murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ranjith Sreenivas.
Judge Sreedevi V.G. found Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Mohammed Aslam, Abdul Kalam alias Salam, Abdul Kalam, Saffaruddin, Manshad, Jaseeb Raja, Navas, Sameer, Nazir, Zakir Hussain, Shaji Poovathungal and Shernas Ashraf guilty of the crime. The convicts, hailing from different parts of Alappuzha, belong to the now proscribed Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The first eight accused, who took part in the killing, were found guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 149 (unlawful assembly), 449 (house-trespass to commit offence punishable with death), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused nine to 12 who stood guard outside the BJP’s leader’s house with deadly weapons when the assailants committed the crime were convicted under Sections 302 and 447 (criminal trespass) of the IPC. Zakir (13th accused), Shaji (14th accused) and Shernas (15th accused), the key conspirators in the case, were found guilty under Sections 120 (criminal conspiracy) and 302 of IPC. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced later.
