The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Sessions Court will pronounce its verdict in the Mannanthala Ranjith murder case on September 30. The final arguments have concluded. Ranjith, an RSS worker from Mannanthala, was murdered on October 17, 2008, in a retaliatory attack following the murder of CPM activist Vanchiyoor Vishnu.

According to the prosecution, Ranjith was hacked to death at around 5.50 am at Vinayaka Fruits, his shop at Kottamukku on the MC Road, by a group led by Ambalamukku Krishnakumar, Velli Narayanan, Gopalan Suresh and Kannan Suresh. The prosecution alleges that the group acted as part of a conspiracy led by CPM leader Hariprasad and was armed with swords and machetes.

The prosecution further alleges that Firoz Khan, Vishnu, Shankar and Godwin Dennis were present near the scene in two cars and a motorcycle, while Mottai Aji, Chukran Ranjith and Karate Suresh were also involved in the conspiracy. The murder was planned during meetings held over several days at Hariprasad's house and elsewhere.

The trial witnessed several developments, with some witnesses, including a police officer from Munnar station, being declared hostile after allegedly giving evidence against the prosecution. The court also provided protection to witnesses under the Witness Protection Scheme following allegations of attempts to physically assault them.

The prosecution presented its final arguments over 13 consecutive days following a schedule fixed by the High Court. Special Public Prosecutor Adv Prathap G Padickal argued that the charges had been proved beyond reasonable doubt and sought stringent punishment. The defence, represented by seven lawyers, maintained that the accused were innocent and had been implicated due to political rivalry.

The court reserved the case for judgment after both sides completed their arguments. The first accused, Ambalamukku Krishnakumar, has already been convicted in the murder of gangster Aprani Krishnakumar.

Advocates Sreedevi Prathap, Shilpa Sivan, Harish Kattur, Maheshwar Padickal and Neeraja Shaji appeared for the prosecution along with Adv Prathap G Padickal. Advocates Vrinda, Chichu Chandran and Shikha assisted the prosecution team.