ALAPPUZHA : In the state’s first instance of 15 people being sentenced to death in a single case, the Mavelikkara Additional District Session Court-I on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to all accused in the murder of BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivas, 45, in December 2021. All the accused are activists of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political arm SDPI.
Judge Sreedevi V G stated in the judgment that awarding a lesser sentence on the ground that the accused are youths could not be considered as the murder was committed “most cruelly, heinously and dastardly.”
Terming the case as the rarest of rare, the judge awarded the death penalty to Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Muhammad Aslam, Abdul Kalam alias Salam, Abdul Kalam, Sarafudheen, Manshad, Jaseeb Raj, Sameer, Nazeer, Zakir Hussain, Shaji and Shernaz Ashraf — all residents of Alappuzha. While the court sentenced to death these 14 convicts who were present at the court, the order did not mention 10th accused Navas, who has been admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and was not present in the court. The judge orally said in the open court that he too committed the same crime and hence came under the same punishment.
In what is described by the prosecution as a tit-for-tat murder, BJP OBC Morcha state secretary and lawyer Ranjith Sreenivas was hacked to death by the PFI-SDPI activists in front of his mother, wife and daughter in his house at Vellakinar in Alappuzha in the wee hours of December 19.
According to the prosecution, the killing of Ranjith was a retaliatory attack by the 15 accused to avenge the murder of SDPI state secretary K S Shan at Kuppezham Junction at Mannancherry, Alappuzha, around 7.30pm on December 18, allegedly by RSS activists. The trigger for Shan’s murder was the killing of RSS worker Nandu Krishna by SDPI men at Vayalar in Alappuzha on February 24, 2021, as per the police remand report.
“The report of the state shows that the accused are hardcore criminals and there is no chance for reformation because they are very deeply interested in the affairs of the said organisation which is widespread in the country, and in case such activities are allowed to continue in society, it would definitely hamper the peace in society. Moreover, it should be deterred, for which, a deterrent punishment is required,” the judgment said.
On January 20, the court found all the 15 accused guilty under various sections of the IPC, including 302 (murder), 120 (criminal conspiracy), 149 (unlawful assembly), 447 (criminal trespass), 449 (house-trespass to commit offence punishable with death), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 341 (wrongful restraint).
Case file
Dec 19, 2021: BJP OBC Morcha state secretary Ranjith Sreenivas hacked to death
Dec 22: A special probe team formed
March 18, 2022: Chargesheet filed against 15 accused — all PFI-SDPI activists — who were arrested on different occasions
Oct 10: High Court transfers case to Mavelikkara sessions court
June 24, 2023: HC rejects plea of accused to change the trial court
Dec 15: Trial of case concludes
Jan 20, 2024: Court finds all 15 accused guilty
Jan 30: All convicts awarded death penalty
Court observations
Awarding a lesser sentence on the ground that the accused are youths could not be considered as the murder was committed “most cruelly, heinously and dastardly.”
The crime was committed with precise planning and the preparations might have started months ago.
The most important aspect is that the heinous crime was committed in the comfort zone — in the house of the victim, in the presence of his mother, wife and minor child
Verdict a relief: Ranjith’s wife
Ranjith’s wife Lisha said the verdict came as a relief for the family though their loss was irreparable.
The court also imposed a fine on all accused, of which `6 lakh would be given to the family of the victim, the judgment said.
As many as 156 prosecution witnesses recorded their statements before the judge. The prosecution had submitted around 1,000 documents and 100 material objects in the court in connection with the case.
The case was investigated by a special team led by Alappuzha DySP N R Jayaraj. Special Public Prosecutor Prathap G Padickkal and advocates Sreedevi Prathap, Shilpa Sivan, and Hareesh Kattoor represented the prosecution.