The police has informed that 8 suspects were directly involved in the murder – File: Photo
Kerala: In the Indian state of Kerala, a court has sentenced 15 people associated with the banned Muslim organization Popular Front (PFI) to death on charges of the murder of a local leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the BBC report, a Sessions Court in the Alappuzha district of Kerala has sentenced 15 people for the murder of Ranjit Shri Novasen, a local leader of the BJP, in connection with the Popular Front. The report stated that Ranjit Shri Novasen was killed in front of his family in 2021 and those convicted are associated with the PFI, a Muslim organization.
The police have informed that during the investigation, 8 out of the 15 suspects were directly involved in the incident, while the others stood guard outside the house armed. Some of the accused were associated with the PFI, while others were affiliated with its political wing, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
The BJP government had imposed a ban on the PFI in 2022 and accused them of having links with terrorist groups.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Ranjit Shri Novasen’s widow said that while their loss is irreparable, the decision is reassuring. Ranjit Shri Novasen was killed in front of his mother, wife, and daughter on December 19, 2021.
Before the murder of the BJP leader, the SDPI leader As Shan was also killed, and the police report stated that Shan’s murder was in response to the killing of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, and later members of the RSS were also arrested.