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9 RSS workers get life terms in murder case
On January 4, the additional district sessions court in Thalassery found the nine of the accused guilty in the case.
Kochi: Nine Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Kannur district of Kerala on Tuesday for the murder of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) worker Rijith Sankaran in 2005.
Rijith (25), a member of CPI(M) youth wing DYFI from Kannapuram Chunda, was ambushed and killed near a temple in Chunda on October 3, 2005, allegedly over a dispute regarding the opening of an RSS branch.
On January 4, the additional district sessions court in Thalassery found the nine of the accused guilty in the case while another accused, Ajesh, had died in a road accident during the pendency of the case.
The nine convicted are — KT Jayesh (41), PP Ajeendran (51), PP Rajesh (46), VV Sreejith (43), PV Srikanth (47), VV Sudhakaran (57), CP Ranjith (44), IV Anilkumar (52) and PV Bhaskaran (57). The court found them guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder (Section 302), attempted murder (Section 307), unlawful assembly (Section 143), rioting (Section 147), wrongful restraint (Section 341), and voluntarily causing hurt with weapons (Section 324).
Hearing the matter on Tuesday, the court awarded life imprisonment to all nine accused.
PP Saseendran, the special public prosecutor, told reporters, “All the convicts have been awarded life imprisonment and fined ₹1.10 lakh each under section 302 (murder) of the IPC. They have also been given rigorous imprisonment terms of varying periods after being found guilty under sections 147, 343, 324 and 348 of the IPC. The justice in the case has been served after a long period of 19 years.”
Rijith’s mother Janaki said she had expected the accused to get the death sentence.
“My son will never come back to me. Nothing can compensate for the tears I have shed and the sadness I have endured. Political parties must desist from picking up the bloody knife. This verdict must be a lesson for all parties,” she said.
CPI(M) leader Mv Jayarajan welcomed the verdict. “There was no justification for the murder of Rijith. He was not an accused in any case. He was just a young DYFI worker who was going home with his friends when he was hacked to death by the criminal elements within RSS/BJP,” he said.
However, the BJP maintained the convicts were innocent and planned to appeal against the verdict.
BJP leader K Ranjith said, “A few activists of the CPI(M) arrived to attack an RSS ‘shakha’ in progress near the Choonda Bhagavathy temple at night. Violence erupted and the CPM worker (Rijith) was killed at that time. But the police unilaterally booked cases against many persons including those who were not present at the time. The Kannur police at the time would book persons based on the orders of the CPM. In court, the evidence went against the RSS persons. But the party and the families will together appeal against the verdict and prove their innocence.”
