Judge K Anil Kumar, who was hearing the case, also sentenced life imprisonment to the other five co-accused. (Representational photo) Judge K Anil Kumar, who was hearing the case, also sentenced life imprisonment to the other five co-accused. (Representational photo)

A former local CPI(M) leader was on Saturday sentenced to death by the additional district sessions court in Kerala’s Alappuzha after he was found guilty in a case pertaining to the murder of a Congress worker in 2009. Judge K Anil Kumar, who was hearing the case, also awarded life imprisonment to the other five co-accused.

The convict, K R Baiju, had been the CPI(M) local secretary at Cherthala town in Alappuzha district.

According to the prosecution, the murdered Congress worker K S Divakaran was a coir worker. The incident happened when Baiju along with others on December 9, 2009, went to Divakaran’s house to sell a coir product as part of the then Left government scheme to promote coir products, billed as “a coir product in a house.”

But, Divakaran refused to buy the product, allegedly due to its exorbitant price. The CPI (M) men then dropped the product at Divakaran’s doorstep, before leaving his house. The issue later snowballed into a tiff between Divakaran’s son Dileep and the CPI(M) leader.

The police probe had found that the gang led by the local CPI(M) leader attacked Divakaran’s house the same night, as a sequel to the row. Divakaran, who sustained serious injuries, died at a hospital. His son Dileep and daughter-in-law Rashmi too had sustained injuries in the attack.

Police brought Baiju before the court as the sixth accused in the murder case. Later, CPI(M) had sacked him from the party.

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