A sessions court in Kerala has sentenced five CPI(M) workers to life imprisonment for murder of a BJP worker to death in 2008. The court also slapped a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on the Thiruvangod residents Akhilesh (35), M Kalesh (36), M Lijesh (32), Vineesh (25) and P K Shaijosh (28) for the murder of K.V. Surendran.
The fine amount will be paid to the family of the victim. Two people were acquitted in the case. The court relied on the testimonies of various witnesses, including the wife of the deceased who was the prime witness in the case. The prosecutor argued that the motive for the murder was political.
Surendran was 62 years old at the time of murder. He was hacked to death at his home near Tellichery by the accused with sharp weapons on the 7th of March, 2008. He was taken to the hospital by the Police but he succumbed to his injuries.
Political murders of BJP cadres are quite rampant to this day. In West Bengal, BJP karyakartas are being murdered at an alarming rate, allegedly by goons associated with the ruling Trinamool Congress. The government has been utterly incapable in stopping the series of murders. Other states have witnessed murders of BJP karyakartas too.