Eleven years after the murder of a BJP party worker, a Kerala court on Friday sentenced five CPI(M) workers for the crime.

KV Surendran, a 62-year-old goldsmith, was hacked to death at his house near Thalassery in Kannur district, after a group of people attacked him with sharp weapons on March 7, 2008.

According to reports, Surendran was bedridden at the time of the incident as he was suffering from kidney ailments. Though he was taken to hospital after the incident, Surendran succumbed to his injuries.

A total of seven people were accused in the crime. But Thalassery additional sessions court judge PN Vinod discharged two of the accused for lack of evidence and sentenced five others.

The five who have been sentenced are Akhilesh, M Lijesh, K Vineesh, Kalesh and Shaijesh. All are residents of Thiruvangad in Kannur district.

Apart from the life sentence, the five CPI(M) workers will also have to pay a fine of Rs one lakh each. As per reports, this money will be given to Surendran’s wife. If not, the convicts will have to undergo a term of six months more in prison, reports state. 

Surendran’ wife is the lone witness to the cold-blooded murder that happened on the night of March 7, 2008.

The incident happened at a time when CPI(M) and BJP hostilities were at its peak in Thalassery. In the attacks that continued between both the parties for about two days in the region, a total of about seven people including BJP and CPI(M) members lost their lives, reports News18.

(With inputs from IANS)