Kerala ABVP to appeal against court order acquitting accused into activist Vishal's murder case

Alappuzha, Dec 30 The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) said on Tuesday that it will approach higher courts to challenge the court order of the Mavelikkara Additional Sessions Court, which acquitted all the 19 accused in the 2012 murder of ABVP activist Vishal, a first-year degree student of NSS College at Konni in Kerala's Pathanamthitta.

Describing the court judgment as "deeply unfortunate and inadmissible", the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said it would continue its legal battle until justice is delivered.

The ABVP Kerala unit has alleged that the acquittal resulted from fabricated and altered testimonies by prime witnesses affiliated with the Students Federation of India (SFI) and National Students' Union of India (Kerala Students' Union).

According to ABVP, these witnesses, who had earlier given statements against the accused during police questioning, later retracted their testimonies during the trial, allegedly under political pressure.

The accused were linked to Campus Front, the student wing of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

The ABVP claimed that Vishal was brutally hacked to death in July 2012 by radical elements for organising Saraswati Puja on a college campus and for actively opposing religious conversion activities.

The student organisation also alleged that lapses during the initial stages of investigation, including delays in arrests and procedural shortcomings, weakened the prosecution's case and contributed to the destruction of crucial evidence.

Condemning what it termed a "nexus of radical elements and political interests", ABVP accused leaders of the Left and Congress-backed student organisations of shielding the accused.

It also alleged that the state government's approach during the investigation aided the eventual acquittal.

ABVP National Secretary Shravan B. Raj said the court judgment amounted to a grave miscarriage of justice.

"Vishal stood fearlessly for nationalism on campus despite threats from extremist groups. His murder and the subsequent acquittal of the accused represent a painful denial of justice," Raj said, adding that the organisation would pursue all legal remedies.

Echoing these views, ABVP National General Secretary Virendra Singh Solanki described the court judgment as "disheartening" and "unacceptable".

He alleged a wider conspiracy involving political parties and radical outfits to protect those responsible for the crime.

"This betrayal will not be forgotten. ABVP will escalate the legal fight to ensure strict punishment for all those involved in Vishal's murder," he said.

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