Five BJP-RSS activists sentenced to life for 2015 murder of RJD leader Deepak

Kochi: Five BJP-RSS activists have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2015 murder of P.G. Deepak, a former BJP worker and president of the Janata Dal (U) Nattika constituency. Deepak, who later joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), was killed in a violent attack in Pazhu, Thrissur.

The accused — M.S. Rishikesh, K.U. Nijil (Kunjappu), K.P. Prashanth (Kochu), Rashanth, and V.P. Breshnev — were sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday.

The verdict follows an appeal by the government and Deepak's wife, Varsha, against the acquittal of the 10 accused in the case by the Thrissur Additional Sessions Court.

The High Court, in a ruling by a division bench comprising Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar and Justice Jabin Sebastian, upheld the murder charges against the five individuals, ordering their immediate arrest on March 27. The trial court had earlier acquitted all the accused, citing the inability of the prosecution to identify the attackers, who wore masks during the assault. However, the High Court found that the trial court had failed to properly examine the evidence and had focused on irrelevant details.

While five accused were sentenced for the murder, the remaining five — Sivadasan, Ragesh, K.S. Baiju, Sarasan, and Sanand — were acquitted. These individuals were charged with inciting violence and destroying evidence.

The murder took place on the night of March 25, 2015, when Deepak was attempting to close his ration shop in Pazhu. The attackers arrived in a vehicle and hacked Deepak to death. Those who tried to intervene were also assaulted.

At the time of his death, Deepak had left the BJP and joined the Janata Dal (U), which later became the RJD. The murder stemmed from political enmity linked to his defection from the BJP.