KOLLAM: The Kollam Principal Sessions court today sentenced to life the accused in the case of hacking to death Kadavoor Jayan, a RSS activist. Those sentenced to life are RSS activists G Vinod, 42, of Kadavoor, G Gopakumar, 36 of Kottamkara, Subramanyan, 39, of Kadavoor, Pranav, 29, of Parappathu Junction, S Arun, 34, of Kizhakadathu, Rajineesh, 31, of Mathilil, Dhinaraj, 31, of Lalivilla, and Shiju, 36, of Gopalasadanam, Thrikkaruva -- all in Kollam -- and Priyaraj, 39, of Vaikkom. The court had found them guilty the other day.

He was killed as an act of revenge for leaving RSS. On February 7 in 2012, Rajesh was hacked to death by the nine RSS workers near a temple in Kadavoor Junction. The Kollam additional sessions court had earlier found them guilty and sentenced to life. The court imposed a fine of Rs one lakh each. However, the accused approached the Kerala High Court questioning the verdict. The high court upheld the defendants' contention that there was lapse in the proceedings of the lower court and quashed the sentence. The case was referred back to the Principal Sessions Court for re-examination.