KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A CBI court in Kochi convicted Saturday 14 people, including former CPM MLA KV Kunhiraman, in the 2019 twin murder of Youth Congress members Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal KP, 23, in Periya town of Kerala's Kasaragod district.
Ten of the total 24 accused were acquitted. The court will pronounce the sentences on Jan 3. The court allowed bail for Kunhiraman and three others until sentencing.
Prominent CPM functionaries among the convicted include Kunhiraman, Kanhangad block panchayat president K Manikandan, former Periya local committee member A Peethambaran, and former Pakkam secretary Raghavan Velutholy. Others convicted include Saji C George, Suresh KM, Anil Kumar K alias Abu, Gijin, Srirag R alias Kuttu, Aswin A alias Appu, Subeesh alias Mani, Ranjith T alias Appu, A Surendran alias Vishnu Sura, and KV Bhaskaran.
Kripesh and Sarath Lal were hacked to death on Feb 17, 2019, in a retaliatory attack allegedly planned by first accused Peethambaran and others following a political clash. The Youth Congress members were waylaid and attacked by a group of eight while returning home on the Kalliot-Thannithode road.
The victims' families, along with opposition Congress and BJP, have called for an appeal against the acquittal of 10 accused. Sarath Lal's father Sathyanarayanan expressed mixed emotions. "The verdict is a relief, but we cannot be happy as our sons were murdered by CPM functionaries and party workers," he said, adding the family would request CBI to appeal against the acquittal of 10 accused.
Kripesh's father Krishnan PV criticised CPM's "politics of violence", calling the judgment a moral defeat for the party. The court found Kunhiraman, Manikandan, Raghavan, and Bhaskaran guilty under IPC Section 225, while eight others directly involved in the killings were convicted under IPC sections 302, 201, 148, 341, and 120(b).
Congress's VD Satheesan swiped at CPM for protecting the accused. "Govt should prosecute criminals, but spent Rs 1 crore of public tax money to prevent CBI from intervening. CPM was responsible for devising the murder," he said, demanding an apology from CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
"The murder resulted from a criminal conspiracy by CPM. Instead of celebrating justice, the party's appeal shows that it openly protects criminals," Satheesan alleged.Kerala BJP president K Surendran credited CBI for uncovering the involvement of CPM politicians. "Such cases investigated by state agencies often let CPM functionaries escape," he said.
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