T’puram: The Nedumangad SC-ST special court has found seven accused guilty in the 2016 Kannammoola Vishnu murder case. The court will pronounce the sentence on Thursday. There were 12 accused in the case.The murder took place on Oct 7, 2016, when Vishnu, 18, was attacked by a group in front of his parents at Kannammoola. The assailants allegedly attacked Vishnu with deadly weapons, including axes, machetes, swords and iron rods.Vishnu sustained grievous injuries. Though he was rushed to MCH, he succumbed to his injuries.Vishnu’s father Anilkumar, mother Bindukumari and his paternal aunt Laila were also grievously injured in the attack. Bindukumari and Laila remained hospitalised for several months and later gave dying declarations before a magistrate.The prosecution alleged that the attack was carried out by a gang led by Arun, alias Paratta, who was reportedly a local gangster in the area. The other accused included Lallu; Rajesh, Sanalkumar, Sreenath, Vijeesh, Manu, Dini Babu, Jayan, Ajeesh, Unnikrishnan and Dileep.According to the prosecution, the motive for the murder was the association between Anilkumar’s family and the accused in the murder of Suni Babu, brother of Dini Babu, who was the eighth accused in the Vishnu murder case.The case was initially investigated by an inspector attached to Kannammoola police station. Later, on the orders of the city police commissioner, Shanghumugham assistant commissioner Shanihan took over the investigation.Sajan Prasad was appointed as special public prosecutor by govt. However, after the trial began, he pointed out serious lapses in the chargesheet and sought suspension of the proceedings.Following his recommendation, further investigation was handed over to J K Dinil, assistant commissioner of the Thiruvananthapuram city district crime records bureau. After rectifying the lapses, Dinil filed a revised chargesheet. The trial based on the revised chargesheet has now concluded.Adithyan, Laila’s son, was a key prosecution witness. He was only seven years old at the time of the incident. The prosecution examined a total of 48 witnesses and produced 144 material objects and six documentary exhibits before the court.
