KOCHI – Kerala court has handed down the death penalty to 15 members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) for the murder of BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in 2021. The court’s decision, delivered on Tuesday, comes after their conviction on January 20.
The prosecution presented evidence indicating that the convicted individuals comprised a trained assassin squad responsible for the brutal killing of Ranjith Sreenivasan in front of his mother, wife, and child. The identified convicts include Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Mohammad Aslam, Salam, Saffaruddin, Abdul Kalam, Manshad, Jaseeb Raja, Navas, Sameer, Nazir, Zakir Hussain, Shaji, and Shernas Ashraf.
Who was Ranjith Sreenivasan?
Ranjith Sreenivasan, aged 40, served as the state secretary of the BJP OBC Morcha. His life was tragically cut short on December 19, 2021, when he was brutally attacked and killed in Vellakinar, Alappuzha town. The horrific incident unfolded in the presence of his family, who witnessed the crime. The assailants not only took Ranjith’s life but also assaulted his mother and sister.
Details of the Crime
The prosecution revealed that Ranjith Sreenivasan sustained 56 gashes on his body during the attack. The court directly implicated eight individuals in the case, while four others arrived at the scene with weapons, preventing the victim from escaping and others to enter the house after hearing his screams.
Reaction from Family
In response to the court’s verdict, Sreenivasan’s family expressed hope that the guilty parties would receive the maximum punishment for their heinous crime. Notably, in 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs imposed a five-year ban on the PFI and its associates. However, the SDPI managed to escape the ban.
