Kerala twin murder case: CBI court finds 14 including former CPI(M) MLA guilty

Kochi: A CBI court here on Saturday found 14 accused including a CPI(M) former MLA guilty in the murder of two Youth Congress workers - Kripesh and Sarath Lal at Periya in Kasaragod district of Kerala five years ago.

Of the 24 accused, the court found the first eight accused guilty of murder and conspiracy charges and another six guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence and providing assistance for operating the crime, while remaining 10 accused have been acquitted in the case.

The court will pronounce the sentence on January 3.

The case pertains to the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal P K, 24, allegedly by CPI(M) workers on February 17, 2019.

The accused found guilty include former MLA and CPI(M) district leader K V Kunhiraman, Kanhangad block panchayat president K Manikandan, former CPI(M) Periya local committee member A Peethambaran, and former Pakkam local secretary Raghavan Velutholi.

According to the prosecution, the twin murders were carried out after politically motivated attacks and counterattacks between the workers of CPI(M) and Congress in the area.

The CBI filed the charge sheet in this case against 24 persons including six CPI(M) workers under various charges such as murder, criminal conspiracy, and unlawful assembly.

The central agency had taken over the investigation from the Kerala Police on October 23, 2019 on the directives of the Kerala High Court.

The crime branch of the state police had filed a charge sheet on May 20, 2019 against 14 accused, but the parents of the victims moved the high court, seeking quashing of charge sheet expressing anguish over the findings of the police.

The Kerala government opposed a CBI probe in the high court and later at the Supreme Court, but the apex court allowed the central probe agency to carry on with its investigation, officials said.

Sathyanarayanan, the father of the deceased Sarathlal, expressed satisfaction with the verdict but added that the legal fight would continue until all the accused are brought to justice. "Ten accused have been acquitted, and we will pursue legal action after consulting with the prosecutor," he said.