Kasaragod, Dec 2: In what comes as a big blow to the ruling CPI(M) the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the Periya double murder case, on Thursday implicated former Uduma MLA and party's district secretariat member KV Kunhiraman and four other party workers for the crime.
The CBI had on Wednesday arrested five of its party members in connection with the crime. This was the CBI's first ever arrest in the case after exactly a year from taking over the case from the state crime branch as per the directions of the Kerala high court which was ratified by the apex court.
Three among the five arrested on Wednesday were 'prosecution witness' in the charge sheet filed by the crime branch. The CBI has filed its charge sheet with ten new accused including former MLA and four others. The crime branch which probed the case earlier had in their charge sheet implicated 14 accused in the crime.
The party has been denying any role of its leaders or cadres in the crime.
According to sources, the arrested were the party's Echiladukkam branch secretary Rajesh alias Raju, Reji Varghese, Surendran alias Vishnu Sura, who is a friend of first accused A Peethambaran; Sastha Madhu, paternal uncle of fifth accused Giji and M Hariprasad.
The prosecution case which the local police and the then Crime Branch wing of Kerala had investigated was that a group of people, in connivance with local CPI (M) leaders, hacked to death the two Youth Congress workers in Periya in Kasaragod district- Kripesh and Sarath Lal, on February 17, 2019.
Citing lapses in the investigation by the Crime Branch the parents of the victims had approached the high court seeking a CBI investigation into the case. They alleged that many who were involved in the crime were not listed as accused in the crime. Acting on the petition, a single bench of the court had ordered a CBI investigation on September 30.
Though the state government had appealed against the single bench order, a division bench of the Kerala High court had dismissed the plea by the state government against the order of a single bench directing a CBI probe.
However, the State Government filed its appeal in the apex court against the division bench order upholding its single bench order permitting a CBI probe.
Expressing surprise over the State’s motives behind trying to block the CBI inquiry, the apex court observed shock and anguish over the non-transfer of case diaries to the CBI despite the high court order permitting a CBI investigation.
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