Kochi: 9 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) staff have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court docket in Kannur district of Kerala on Tuesday for the homicide of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) employee Rijith Sankaran in 2005.
Rijith (25), a member of CPI(M) youth wing DYFI from Kannapuram Chunda, was ambushed and killed close to a temple in Chunda on October 3, 2005, allegedly over a dispute concerning the opening of an RSS department.
On January 4, the extra district periods court docket in Thalassery discovered the 9 of the accused responsible within the case whereas one other accused, Ajesh, had died in a highway accident through the pendency of the case.
The 9 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 docket discovered them responsible below numerous sections of the Indian Penal Code, together with homicide (Part 302), tried homicide (Part 307), illegal meeting (Part 143), rioting (Part 147), wrongful restraint (Part 341), and voluntarily inflicting damage with weapons (Part 324).
Listening to the matter on Tuesday, the court docket awarded life imprisonment to all 9 accused.
PP Saseendran, the particular public prosecutor, advised reporters, “All of the convicts have been awarded life imprisonment and fined ₹1.10 lakh every below part 302 (homicide) of the IPC. They’ve additionally been given rigorous imprisonment phrases of various durations after being discovered responsible below sections 147, 343, 324 and 348 of the IPC. The justice within the case has been served after an extended interval of 19 years.”
Rijith’s mom Janaki stated she had anticipated the accused to get the demise sentence.
“My son won’t ever come again to me. Nothing can compensate for the tears I’ve shed and the disappointment I’ve endured. Political events should desist from choosing up the bloody knife. This verdict have to be a lesson for all events,” she stated.
CPI(M) chief Mv Jayarajan welcomed the decision. “There was no justification for the homicide of Rijith. He was not an accused in any case. He was only a younger DYFI employee who was going dwelling together with his pals when he was hacked to demise by the prison components inside RSS/BJP,” he stated.
Nonetheless, the BJP maintained the convicts have been harmless and deliberate to enchantment towards the decision.
BJP chief Okay Ranjith stated, “A couple of activists of the CPI(M) arrived to assault an RSS ‘shakha’ in progress close to the Choonda Bhagavathy temple at evening. Violence erupted and the CPM employee (Rijith) was killed at the moment. However the police unilaterally booked instances towards many individuals together with those that weren’t current on the time. The Kannur police on the time would guide individuals based mostly on the orders of the CPM. In court docket, the proof went towards the RSS individuals. However the occasion and the households will collectively enchantment towards the decision and show their innocence.”
