KOCHI: The High Court has found five BJP-RSS workers guilty of murdering P.G. Deepak, a Janata Dal (U) leader from Thrissur, Kerala. The court ordered their immediate arrest and scheduled sentencing for April 8 at 10:15 AM. The accused are M.S. Rishikesh, K.U. Nijil (Kunjappu), K.P. Prashanth (Kochu), Rashanth and V.P. Brashnev.

This decision came after the government and Deepak's wife, Varsha, appealed against a lower court's ruling that had acquitted all 10 accused. The trial court had earlier dismissed the case, citing lack of evidence due to the masked nature of the attack. However, the High Court found that the evidence was not properly examined.

Five others accused were charged with inciting violence and destroying evidence. The High Court upheld their acquittal. They are Sivadasan, Ragesh, K.S. Baiju, Sarasan and Sanand.

Deepak, who was the president of the Janata Dal (U) Nattika constituency, was murdered on March 25, 2015, in Pazhuvil, Thrissur. He was attacked and killed while closing his ration shop. The murder was reportedly due to a political dispute after Deepak left the BJP to join the Janata Dal (U), which later became the RJD.