15 PFI Members Sentenced To Death For Brutal Killing of Ranjith Sreenivasan

On Tuesday, the Kerala court sentenced 15 men linked to the now-outlawed group Popular Front of India (PFI) to death. 

They were found guilty of brutally murdering BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivasan in Alappuzha in December 2021. Judge VG Sreedevi announced the decision.

Ranjith Sreenivasan, a BJP OBC Morcha leader, was killed at his house on December 19, 2021. The attack, in which he was brutally killed in front of his family, was allegedly done by PFI and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists.

The court found the first eight of the 15 accused directly involved in the murder. Another four were guilty because they helped the attackers and tried to stop help from reaching Sreenivasan. Three more were convicted for planning the murder.

Judge Sreedevi V G, noting that the case falls within the rarest of rare categories, sentenced 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 to the death penalty.

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The murder happened just hours after SDPI leader KS Shan was killed, allegedly by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members. Sreenivasan was attacked at his home by a 12-member group. 

His mother, wife, and daughter witnessed the crime. This case is seen as a response to KS Shan’s murder. The trial for that case is still ongoing.

Special Public Prosecutor Prathap G Padickal stated that all accused were convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder), among other charges like criminal conspiracy and trespass. 

The court agreed with the prosecution that the manner of the attack was extremely cruel, making it a “rarest of the rare” case deserving the death sentence.

The prosecutor highlighted the brutality of the attack, noting that Sreenivasan suffered over 56 cuts on his body and was attacked in front of his elderly mother, wife, and daughter.

During the trial, 156 witnesses testified, and the prosecution presented over 1,000 documents and 100 items as evidence.