Kerala: Youth arrested for threat to murder female judge who awarded death sentence to 15 convicts in BJP leader’s murder case, fourth arrest so far

Kerala Police arrest fourth person in threatening social media messages against Judge VG Sridevi who awarded death sentence to 15 in BJP leader's murder case (Image Source - Kerala Kaumudi and OpIndia Hindi)

The Kerala Police have arrested a 26-year-old man who is accused of calling for the murder of female Judge VG Sridevi. The judge has been receiving threats from Islamists for awarding death sentences to 15 PFI-SDPI members in the murder case of BJP’s OBC leader Ranjith Sreenivasan. 

As per reports, the Police arrested the accused Asarikkandy Muhammer Hadi in connection with his social media post calling to kill Judge VG Sridevi. The Peruvannamoozhi police arrested him from his workplace at Perembra. The arrest was made in a case that was filed suo motu by the police. 

Hadi’s arrest was overall fourth arrest in this case. Three accused were arrested earlier this week for insulting and threatening judge VG Sridevi through social media. The accused were arrested a day after the Kerala Police increased the security cover of Judge Sridevi. 

The arrested accused included two natives of Mannancheri in Alappuzha named Naseer Mon and Nawaz Naina while the third accused Rafi hails from Thiruvananthapuram. 

The Alappuzha South Police had earlier registered six cases against miscreants who posted threatening messages against the judge on social media platforms. The accused booked in those cases included Beevi K U, Aslam Valappupacha, Nazeer Mon Khaleel, Azad Ameer, Rafi Thiruvananthapuram, and Shafeeq. 

Murder case of BJP’s OBC leader Ranjith Sreenivasan

Ranjith Sreenivasan, the BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, was brutally attacked and killed in his home on 19th December 2021, in front of his family. The Additional District Sessions Court I, Mavelikkara of Judge VG Sridevi pronounced all 15 accused guilty in Ranjith’s murder case. 

Judge Sridevi deemed the case as falling within the category of the “rarest of rare”.Subsequently, she handed capital punishment to Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Mohammed Aslam, Abdul Kalam alias Salam, Abdul Kalam, Saffaruddin, Manshad, Jaseeb Raja, Navas, Sameer, Nazir, Zakir Hussain, Shaji Poovathungal, and Shernas Ashraf on 30th January.

However, soon after pronouncing the verdict, Judge VG Sridevi faced multiple threats to her life from Islamists which led to an increase in her security cover. Additionally, she also became the target of a social media hate campaign by Islamic fanatics affiliated with PFI who posted her pictures online. 

In this case, the police had produced a hit list before the court that was obtained from Anoop’s phone. It became a significant piece of evidence in the matter. More than 150 individuals, including Ranjith Sreenivasan, were named on the list. They also featured the names of numerous leaders belonging to BJP and Hindu organisations.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia