NEW DELHI: A court in Taliparamba in Kerala’s Kannur district on Saturday (April 18) sentenced 10 CPI(M) activists to 25 years of imprisonment in connection with a 2011 bomb attack on RSS-BJP workers at Thimiri.
The Taliparamba Additional District and Sessions Judge, Prasanth K.N., also imposed a fine of ₹2.6 lakh on each of the convicts. According to the order, T.V. Binu, identified as the person who threw the bomb, was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment to be served consecutively.
The other nine convicts—M.K. Pradeep Kumar, P.V. Baburaj, P.P. Sathyan, E.V. Vinod Kumar, Paleri Vijayan, K.P. Suresh, Toby, Janardhanan K.V., and Sivaprakash—were each awarded sentences of up to 10 years, to run concurrently.
The court had, on Friday (April 17), found the accused guilty of charges including attempt to murder and offences under the Explosive Substances Act. Two accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on November 27, 2011, when the accused allegedly hurled bombs at BJP-RSS workers who were returning from a hospital after treatment at Thimiri in Taliparamba.
Nine people were seriously injured in the attack. The violence was reportedly linked to political rivalry over the establishment of an RSS shakha in the area.
In a separate case, the Thalassery Additional District and Sessions Court found three CPI(M) workers guilty in connection with the mutilation of an RSS worker.
The convicts—Sreejith alias “Tension” Sreejith, Shyju, and Shafeek P.K.—were held responsible for attacking Raijesh, a bus cleaner, and severing his palm in an incident that took place on November 23, 2015, at Kozhoor in Thalassery.
The court sentenced Sreejith to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹1.25 lakh, while Shafeek and Shyju were each sentenced to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹75,000.
Sreejith is already serving a life sentence in a separate case involving the murder of an RSS activist. - The Statesman/ANN
