Kochi, 28 December
A special CBI court here on Saturday convicted 14 people, including a former CPI(M) MLA, in the murder of two Youth Congress workers – Kripesh and Sarath Lal – at Periya in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. Out of a total of 24 accused, the court found the first eight accused guilty of murder and conspiracy and the other six guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence and aiding and abetting the crime, while the remaining 10 were acquitted.
The court will sentence the convicted accused on January 3. The case relates to the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh (19) and Sarat Lal PK (24), who were allegedly murdered by CPI(M) workers on February 17, 2019. Among the accused found guilty are former MLA and CPI(M) district leader KV Kunhiraman, Kanhungad block panchayat president K Manikandan, former CPM Periya local committee member A Pithambaran and former Paknam local secretary Raghavan Velutholi.
According to the prosecution, the twin murders were carried out following politically motivated attacks and counter-attacks between CPI(M) and Congress workers in the area. The CBI had filed a chargesheet against 24 persons, including six CPI(M) workers, on various charges including murder, criminal conspiracy and unlawful assembly in the case.
#WATCH | Kerala | Kochi CBI Special court convicts 14 people including former CPI(M) legislator K Kunhiraman in Periya double murder case
Visuals from the CBI Special court pic.twitter.com/OB5I5bFAOK
— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2024
On October 23, 2019, the central agency took over the investigation from the Kerala Police on the directions of the Kerala High Court. The crime branch of the state police filed a charge sheet against 14 accused on May 20, 2019, but the parents of the victims moved the High Court, expressing displeasure over the police findings, seeking quashing of the charge sheet. Satyanarayanan, father of the deceased Sarthalal, expressed satisfaction with the verdict but said the legal battle will continue until all the accused are brought to book. -News-Patiala
