Alappuzha, Kerala, India – All 15 accused in the murder of Ranjith Sreenivasan, the state secretary of the BJP OBC Morcha in Kerala, have been sentenced to death. The sentence was pronounced by Mavelikara Additional Sessions Court Judge V.G. Sridevi on Thursday.
The accused are all members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). The court found that they were directly involved in the murder, which took place on December 19, 2021.
Ranjith Sreenivasan was hacked to death by a group of armed men who broke into his house in Vellakinar junction in Alappuzha municipality. His mother, wife, and daughter were present at the time of the murder.
The prosecution argued that the murder was a retaliatory attack in response to the murder of SDPI state secretary K.S. Shan, who was killed by a group of four men in Mannancherry on December 18, 2021.
The court found that the murder was a heinous crime and that the accused deserved the death penalty. The sentence is expected to be appealed to the Kerala High Court.
