Ranjith Sreenivasan Murder: Security Stepped Up For Kerala Judge Amid Online Threats After Death Verdict

The police increased the security cover by assigning a six-member team, led by a sub-inspector, to ensure her personal security.

The heightened security measures come after the court sentenced 15 men associated with PFI to death for their involvement in 2021 murder of BJP OBC wing leader Ranjith.

Source : Special arrangement

Kerala Police heightened the security for Mavelikkara Additional Sessions Judge-I V G Sreedevi on Wednesday following social media threats made against her after she pronounced the verdict in the murder case of BJP OBC wing leader Ranjith Sreenivasan. The police increased the security cover by assigning a six-member team, led by a sub-inspector, to ensure her personal security.

In response to online threats on Thursday, a police officer informed PTI that they were treating the matter seriously and had deployed a sub-inspector along with additional police personnel to ensure the safety of the judge. The heightened security measures come after the court sentenced 15 men associated with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to death for their involvement in the 2021 murder of the BJP OBC wing leader in Alappuzha district.

The court found all of them - Naisam, Ajmal, Anoop, Mohammed Aslam, Abdul Kalam alias Salam, Abdul Kalam, Saffaruddin, Manshad, Jaseeb Raja, Navas, Sameer, Nazir, Zakir Hussain, Shaji Poovathungal, and Shernas Ashraf - guilty of brutally murdering the BJP leader.

Following the court's decision, derogatory posts targeting the judge surfaced on various social media platforms, prompting authorities to take proactive security measures.

The court, in its order, stated that there was "absolute justification" for awarding capital punishment to all accused individuals in this case. The victim, Sreenivasan, a lawyer and the BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, was brutally attacked and killed in his home on December 19, 2021, in front of his family. The assailants were affiliated with the PFI and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).

Authorities suspected that the murder was in retaliation for the killing of SDPI leader K S Shan, which occurred just hours before Sreenivasan's murder. The trial for Shan's murder case is yet to commence.