The Thalassery District Sessions Court in Kerala’s Kannur on Monday sentenced eight CPI-M workers, including the brother of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s press secretary, to life imprisonment for the 2005 murder of BJP worker Elambilayi Sooraj from Muzhappilangad. Another CPI-M worker received a three-year rigorous imprisonment sentence in the case.

Those sentenced to life imprisonment include TK Rajeesh, who is already serving a life sentence for the 2012 murder of rebel CPI-M leader TP Chandrasekharan, along with PM Manoraj (brother of PM Manoj, the Chief Minister’s press secretary), NV Yogesh, K Shamjith, Neyyoth Sajeevan, Prabhakaran, KV Padmanabhan, and Manombeth Radhakrishnan. Sessions Court Judge KT Nisar Ahammed also sentenced the 11th accused, Pradeepan, to three years in prison.

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Among those sentenced to life, Prabhakaran was a former local secretary of the CPI-M and former president of the Edakkad panchayat, while KV Padmanabhan and Manombeth Radhakrishnan were CPI-M local committee members.

On Friday, the Thalassery District Sessions Court found nine CPI-M members guilty of the 2005 murder of BJP worker Sooraj in Muzhappilangad near Kannur. A tenth accused was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, while two other accused, P.K. Shamsudheen and TP Raveendran, passed away during the trial.

The murder occurred on the morning of August 7, 2005, in Muzhappilangad, a CPI-M stronghold in Thalassery. Sooraj, 32, was brutally attacked due to political animosity after he switched allegiance from CPI-M to BJP. Before attacking him with knives and swords, the assailants detonated a country bomb to create panic and disperse onlookers. After ensuring his death, they fled the scene.

Six months earlier, CPI-M workers had attacked Sooraj, leaving him bedridden with a leg injury. After his recovery, he was targeted again, leading to his tragic killing.

According to the charge sheet, on August 5, 2005, five accused conspired to eliminate Sooraj. “On August 7, six accused arrived in an autorickshaw driven by one of them, formed an unlawful assembly, and assaulted Sooraj with deadly weapons,” the charge sheet stated.

The document further detailed that Sooraj attempted to escape but fell on the road, after which NV Yogesh hacked his neck with a sword, and Rajeesh struck his head with an axe.

Though the trial began in 2010, proceedings were stalled until a significant breakthrough in 2012. The case took a new turn after TK Rajeesh, accused in the murder of RMP leader TP Chandrasekharan, was arrested.

During interrogation, Rajeesh confessed to his involvement in multiple political murders, including Sooraj’s. Following this revelation, the Kerala High Court directed the police to reopen the case, eventually leading to the convictions.