KANNUR : The Thalassery Additional Sessions Court has sentenced M.V. Marshook, a native of Iritty Chavassery, to life imprisonment for the murder of RSS leader Ashwini Kumar. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Marshook. Earlier, the court had acquitted 13 members of the National Development Front (NDF) who were accused in the murder. Only the third accused, Marshook, was found guilty.
Accused 1 and 2, P.K. Aziz and Nurul Amin, along with accused 4 to 14 P.M. Siraj, C.P. Ummer, M.K. Yunus, R.K. Ali, Naufal, P.K. Shameer, Thanalottu Yakoob, Mustafa, Basheer, K. Shamnas, and Shanavas were acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The court examined 42 witnesses, reviewed 57 documents, and evaluated 85 pieces of evidence.
District Government Pleader B.P. Saseendran expressed disappointment with the verdict, while RSS leader Valsan Thillankeri voiced frustration, stating that the organization intended to appeal.
Ashwini Kumar, a teacher in Iritty, was attacked and killed on March 10, 2005, while traveling from Kannur to Iritty, allegedly in retaliation for the murder of NDF Iritty sub-division convener P.V. Muhammad.