KOLLAM: The Kollam Assistant Sessions Court on Friday sentenced 11 workers of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 30,000 each for attempting to murder three CPM workers. Judge T Amrutha delivered the verdict.

The convicted men are Nedumpana residents Mohammed Faisal (34), Mohammed Tahir (32), Salim (35), Abdul Jaleen (43), Shaheer Musliyar (44), Mohammed Anwar aka Anu (35), Shan (38), Shafi, and Hussain; Irshad (38) of Muttakkavu; and Kirar aka Dirar (39) of Charuvila. Four of them, including first accused Mohammed Anwar and sixth accused Shan, are at large.

Both had been arrested but absconded during the trial. Ninth accused Shafi and eleventh accused Hussain are also on the run. The court also directed a fine of Rs 50,000 be paid as compensation to the injured.

CPM workers Nisam, Ranjith, and Saifuddin were brutally attacked, leaving them severely injured. Saifuddin and Ranjith were initially treated at the Thiruvanathapuram MCH and later at the SP Fort Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram and at Azeezia Medical College.