THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seven accused were found guilty in the infamous 2016 Kannamoola Vishnu murder case by the Nedumangad SC ST Special Court.
Arun alias Paratta Arun, Sanal, Vishnu, Rajesh aka Poocha Rajesh, Manu alias Shetty Manu, Sreenath and Lallu were found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Vishnu after barging into his house on October 7, 2016.
The murder was a fallout of a gang rivalry between two gangsters, Puthenpalam Rajesh and Dini Babu.
Vishnu's father, Anil Kumar, apparently had a connection with a gang that murdered Dini Babu's brother, Suni Babu, in December 2015.
Vishnu was also considered to be close to Puthenpalam Rajesh, who headed the rival gang. It was to avenge Suni's murder that Dini's gang hacked Vishnu to death in front of his parents and aunt.
His parents, Anil Kumar and Bindu, and aunt Laila sustained serious injuries in the attack and were forced to remain bedridden for months. During that period, they gave statements against the accused before the magistrate, which proved to be crucial.
Another key witness was Laila's son, Adithyan, who was just seven years old when the incident occurred before his eyes. He gave a statement against the accused during the trial.
The Pettah police Inspector initially probed the case. Later, the probe was handed over to Shanghumugham ACP Shanihan, who added sections of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused.
Further investigation was conducted by DCRB AC J K Dinil after Special Prosecutor Sajan Prasad found that the chargesheets against the accused had flaws. The chargesheet was revised, based on which the trial was held.
Forty eight witnesses, 144 material evidence items and six documents were produced before the court by the prosecution to prove the case. The quantum of punishment will be announced on Thursday.