ALAPPUZHA : The police strengthened the security of Mavelikkara Additional District and Sessions Court -I Judge Sreedevi V G, who awarded death penalty to SDPI-PFI activists in the murder of OBC Morcha leader Ranjith Sreenivas, on Wednesday.
The police intensified vigil after threat messages widely appeared on social media platforms after the judgment was pronounced.
“Six police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were deployed at her official residence on Wednesday,” an officer said.
On Tuesday, the judge awarded death sentences to 15 accused in the murder case.
The court gave capital punishment after observing that the murder fell under the category of the rarest of rare cases.
Meanwhile, the trial in the murder case of SDPI leader K S Shan which took place 12 hours before the murder of Ranjith, has not yet started. This has led to resentment among SDPI-PFI activists. It is suspected that the murder of Shan was the trigger for the murder of Ranjith.
However, the prosecution proved in the court that the trigger for the murder of Ranjith Sreenivasan was not the murder of Shan.
The prosecution stated that the list of persons to be killed was found on the mobile phone of the third accused in the Ranjith murder case.
So the court concluded that the murder of Ranjith was pre-planned. The execution of the crime in front of the victim’s mother, wife, and daughter was also considered by the court while awarding capital punishment.
The police are expected to file a second chargesheet in the Ranjith murder case against 15 accused, including those who helped to destroy evidence.