KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday found five BJP activists guilty in the case related to the murder of Janata Dal (United) leader PG Deepak at Cherpu, Thrissur, in March 2015.
Earlier, the Thrissur Additional Sessions Court had acquitted 10 BJP workers arrested in the case.
On March 24, 2015, five individuals intercepted Deepak while he was on his way home after closing the shop where he worked. They brutally hacked him to death.
Two others who were with Deepak at the time were seriously injured in the attack. Deepak, who initially worked for the BJP, later switched to the JD(U) and was elevated to the post of mandalam secretary in Nattika, also in Thrissur district. He had also been persuading other BJP workers to join the JD(U).
The trial court in 2017 acquitted all the accused due to inconsistencies in eyewitness testimonies. However, in 2020, the state government and Deepak’s relatives challenged the acquittal in the Kerala High Court.
A division bench comprising Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian after going through the evidence in the case, found five activists guilty while acquitting five others. Those convicted are Rishikesh, Nijin, Prasanth, Rasanth, and Brashnev. The acquitted individuals are Sivadas, Ragesh, Baiju, Sanandh, and Sarasan.
The court has directed the police to produce the convicted persons before it on April 8 for a hearing before sentencing. According to police officials, the first accused, Rishikesh, is currently abroad, while two others convicted in the case are already in jail for another criminal case.