Twelve years after the brutal murder of a CPI(M) activist at Kannur in Kerala, the Thalassery Additional District Sessions Court sentenced seven BJP-RSS workers to life imprisonment.

The Thalassery Additional District Sessions Court judge PN Vinod sentenced the workers of BJP and RSS on Wednesday. Besides handing over a life term for the seven accused, they have also been slapped with a fine of Rs one lakh each.

The seven convicts in the case are A Prashanth, AP Vineesh, Lyju, Muthu, Anilkumar, Vijilesh — residents of Kannur district and Mahesh, native of Kozhikode, all of whom are BJP-RSS workers.

They were convicted under Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 302 (Punishment for murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), read with 149 (offence by people of unlawful assembly), reportsThe Hindu.

Of the total eight people accused in the crime, the fourth accused Jyothish passed away during the trial.

P Pavithran, a CPI(M) activist, who worked as a labourer, was attacked on November 6, 2007, when he was going out to buy milk early in the morning. According to reports, the incident occurred near his house at Namath Mukku anganwadi at Ponniam in Kannur district. Pavithran was chased by attackers at around 5.45 am that day.

Though he managed to get into the house of a person nearby, the attackers followed and stabbed Pavithran, reports Mathrubhumi. He was admitted to a private hospital in Kozhikode but died four days after being hospitalised.

According to reports, Pavithran is survived by his wife Ramani and son Vipin.

The family had moved away from where they were living in Ponniam, after the crime. The deceased's son Vipin was a witness to the crime. Including Vipin, the court considered 23 witnesses in the case.

(With inputs from IANS)