Kozhikode, Wednesday, 4 February 2010: The Special Additional District Sessions Court has sixteen people guilty in the Marad Shimjith murder case.

The quantum of sentence for the accused would be pronounced on February 6. The Court also let off four people in connection with the case after the prosecution failed to produce evidence against them.

There were 20 accused in the case. Six of them were convicted in the May 2, 2003 Marad massacre case and have been lodged at the Kannur Central Prison.

They are Seemamudakathu Latheef, 43; Pallithodi Abdul Rizan,29; Nalukudiparambu Manaf, 29; brothers Seemamudakathu Thajudeen, 34, Noufal, 30, Gafoor, 38 and Manaf, 32; brothers Erjuvindakathu Mustafa, 42 , Shafi, 38, Salim, 36 and Zakir, 32 ; Seemamudakathu Siyavudheen, 32; Thakkalathu Mustafa, 39; Parichendakathu Saidalavi alias Koyamon, 29; Erjuvindakathu Shihab, 28; Erjuvindakathu Faizal, 30; Seemamudakathu Sarfudeen, 31; Arayanveethil Anu alias Koyamon, 33; Puthenpeedikkal Ansu, 33 and Seemamudakathu Anafi, 38.

The Beypore police had charged them under Section 143, 147, 148, 149, 153-A, 302, 307, 336 and 396 of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution, the accused murdered Shimjith around 8 p.m. on January 3, 2002. There are 29 witnesses in the case. One of them was Pushparajan, who was killed a year later. He was Shimjith’s first cousin.

The Shimjith murder case is the 18th of the 67 cases registered in connection with the communal riots on January 3 and 4. This is also the first of the murder cases in which the trial has been completed. Five persons were killed, several persons were injured and property worth crores of rupees was destroyed during the riots on these two days.