Seven eyewitnesses testify in Abhimanyu murder trial

Updated - October 19, 2026 12:17 am IST - KOCHI

The prosecution on Saturday (October 17) completed the chief examination of seven eyewitnesses as the trial in the Abhimanyu murder case continued in the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court.

The defence will cross-examine them on October 22. For the third consecutive day, all 16 accused appeared in matching attire, face masks, and caps. However, they were made to remove the masks and caps inside the court.

Four witnesses were examined on Saturday. The witnesses stated that the accused created trouble while preparations were under way on the college campus for the reception of freshers.

The accused allegedly turned violent following a dispute over graffiti painted by the Campus Front, the student wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), on a wall reserved for the Students Federation of India (SFI). The dispute allegedly culminated in the stabbing of Abhimanyu and others. The witnesses also spoke about the change in the appearance of the accused. All the accused were dressed in white shirts and dhotis and had similar hairstyles. They no longer sported beards. The witnesses said it was difficult to identify the accused because of these changes.

The fourth witness identified all 16 accused. The fifth, sixth and seventh witnesses identified the key accused. At the instance of Special Public Prosecutor G. Mohanraj, photographs from the college campus were exhibited in the courtroom. The photographs included the wall that had been whitewashed and reserved for SFI graffiti, as well as the Campus Front graffiti. The fourth witness identified all of them. Witnesses also identified the clothes worn by Abhimanyu when he was stabbed and the blunt object allegedly used in the attack.

The trial in the Abhimanyu murder case began on October 15. Principal Sessions Judge K.K. Balakrishnan had fixed the trial schedule on August 21 following a Kerala High Court order in July directing that the trial be completed within four months, based on a petition filed by Abhimanyu’s mother, Bhoopathy. The examination of all 156 witnesses will continue without interruption except on holidays and is scheduled to be completed within 18 days, by November 12.

The chargesheet in the case was filed in 2018. Abhimanyu, a second-year BSc Chemistry student and SFI unit secretary at Maharaja’s College, was allegedly fatally stabbed on July 2, 2018, during clashes between activists of the SFI and the Campus Front, reportedly following a dispute over graffiti.

Published - October 17, 2026 09:17 pm IST

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