Kerala: CBI takes over twin murder of Youth Cong leaders

NEW DELHI: The CBI has taken over the twin killing case of two Youth Congress leaders in Kerala's Kasaragod and registered a murder case against several local CPI(M) leaders in the district, including the party committee secretary in Periya, A Peethambaran.

The case had caused quite a stir when it came to light in February this year, with the Congress alleging that its youth leaders, Kripesh (21) and

Sarath Lal (24) were killed by members of the ruling CPI(M) in the state and the left party denying any involvement.

The brutal murder case was eventually transferred to the Crime Branch in Kerala, which filed a chargesheet against 14 accused, all associated with the CPI(M). However, the police had alleged that Peethambaran, the prime accused in the case, had conspired to kill the two Congress members out of personal enmity that arose out of an earlier tussle between the two parties, where he was injured. After family members of the victim approached the Kerala HC with a plea seeking impartial probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case, the court had ruled in a scathing indictment of the Crime Branch investigation that the probe was a "sham".

The HC ruling had transferred the probe to the central agency saying that the Crime Branch had conducted a shoddy investigation in the case and that it was impossible for murders to not have a political colour to it, given that all the 14 accused were members of the CPI(M). The CBI will now probe whether the murders were orchestrated by the larger political machinery of the ruling CPI(M) in the state or whether as the state police had alleged it was just a matter of personal enmity between Peethambaran and the two youth leaders. However, when Peethambaran was arrested by local police in connection with the murders, the party's district committee was quick to expel him from his position, distancing him from the party because "he was working against the party's policies". State police had arrested all 14 accused in the case, with three currently out on bail and 11 still under judicial custody. Officials here said that the CBI will first examine all evidence on record and look at the relevant material before examining associated individuals and only then go ahead with seeking custody of the accused persons.