ALAPPUZHA: Alappuzha Additional District Court III on Wednesday convicted six including CPM former local secretary for killing a Congress leader.
It will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.
K.S. Divakaran, 56, the ward committee president of Congress party was beaten to death at his house in Cherthala on November 29, 2009.
The convicts are V. Sujith, 38; S. Sathishkumar, 38; Praveen, 32; Benny, 45; N. Sethukumar, 45, and R Byju, 45, the CPM local secretary.
A dispute over selling coir mats led to his murder. They reached his home and demanded him to buy a mat under a project of Coir Corporation.
However, he refused as the rate was high which led to an altercation.They kept a mat in the house forcibly. Dileep, son of Divakaran, raised the issue in the gram sabha which was held in the afternoon and it led to a war of words.
Later, the gang reached his house and attacked Divakaran, his wife Reshmi and son Dileep with a log that resulted in the deep wound on his head.
He was admitted to Cherthala taluk hospital and later shifted to Kottayam Medical College Hospital where he was declared brought dead on December 9.
