The Kerala High Court on Tuesday awarded life sentence to five RSS/BJP activists in the case related to the murder of Janata Dal (United) worker Nattika Deepak.
A division bench of the High Court awarded the life sentence to Rishikesh, Nijin, Prasanth, Rasanth, and Brashnev. The convicts have also been directed to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh each.
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The trial court had acquitted all 10 accused in 2017 due to inconsistencies in eyewitness testimonies. However, in 2020, the state government and Deepak’s relatives challenged the acquittal by the Thrissur Additional Sessions Court in the Kerala High Court.
On March 27, a division bench comprising Justice PB Suresh Kumar and Justice Jobin Sebastian, after going through the evidence in the case, found five activists guilty while acquitting five others. Those convicted are Rishikesh, Nijin, Prasanth, Rasanth, and Brashnev. The acquitted individuals are Sivadas, Ragesh, Baiju, Sanandh, and Sarasan. These individuals were charged with inciting violence and destroying evidence.
On March 24, 2015, the five accused intercepted Deepak while he was on his way home after closing the shop where he worked and brutally hacked him to death.
