Mohammed Riyas Maulavi, 34, a muezzin and madrassa teacher from nearby Choori was found murdered in his room in the mosque in 2017.
Published Mar 30, 2024 | 1:53 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 30, 2024 | 2:28 PM
Representative image (iStock)
A court in Kasaragod on Saturday, 30 March, acquitted three RSS activists in a case relating to the murder of a Madrassa teacher inside a mosque in the district in 2017.
Kasaragod Principal Sessions court judge KK Balakrishnan acquitted the three accused in the case.
The accused spent seven years in jail without bail.
As reported by Live Law, the acquitted were 19-year-old Nitin, 20-year-old Ajesh and 25-year-old Akhilesh.
The final report filed by the police had Sections 449 (house trespass), 302 (murder), 153A (promoting enmity on ground of religion), 295 (defiling place of worship), 201 (destruction of evidence) r/w 34 (common intention) IPC.
The detailed verdict of the case is yet to come out.
Mohammed Riyas Maulavi, 34, a muezzin (person who proclaims the Islamic call to prayer) and madrassa teacher from nearby Choori was found murdered in his room in the mosque on 20 March 2017.
His throat was allegedly slit by a gang which had entered the compound of Muhayuddin Juma masjid of Choori.
Meanwhile, the prosecution expressed disappointment over the verdict and said they would appeal against the order.
“There was strong evidence in the case. Maulavi’s blood was found on the clothes of one of the accused. A piece of fabric belonging to Maulavi was found on the knife used by the accused. We had submitted all the evidence. We are waiting for the detailed judgement to move an appeal,” special public prosecutor C Shukkur told PTI.
The court examined 97 witnesses, 215 documents and 45 material evidence in the case and the chargesheet was filed within 90 days.
The wife of Maulavi, who was present in the court, broke down before the media and said the order was “disappointing”.
The victim’s family members said they never expected this judgment in the matter.
“In this case, the courts did not even grant bail to the accused for the past seven years. The accused were not connected with Maulavi in any manner. Even the police charge sheet clearly mentions that the crime was an attempt to create communal unrest in the region,” the relatives told reporters.
The charge sheet and the remand report said that the accused were trying to foment communal unrest in the region.
The prosecution contended that the accused individuals, strong believers of Hindutva ideology, harboured intense animus and hostility towards members of the Muslim community, culminating in the act of murder.
(With PTI inputs)
