The Additional District and Sessions Court at Thalassery on Friday awarded life sentence to nine workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) convicted in the case of murder of Communist Party of India (Marxist) worker K.P. Raveendran inside the Central Prison here in 2004.
The accused in the murder case who were found guilty are Pavithran of Panur, Falgunan of Thambankadavu, K.P. Raghu and Suni of Central Poyiloor, Sanal Prasad of Arakkinar, P.K. Dineshan and Anilkumar of Koothuparamba, Sasi of Mokeri, and P.V. Ashokan of Balussery.
The remaining 22 accused in the case were acquitted of the charges.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh each on the nine convicts. Raveendran, 40, a native of Kakkat, near Nadapuram, in Kozhikode district, was murdered on April 4, 2004.
He had been undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case registered in the Nadapuram police station.
He had been killed during a clash between two groups of inmates inside the jail over installing fans inside the prison blocks.
The prosecution said that there were 71 witnesses, including jail officials, in this case.