PATHANAMTHITTA (KERALA), Dec 29: Reiterating the CPI(M)’s position that they had no involvement in the murder of two youth congress workers in Kerala’s Periya five years ago, party central committee member A K Balan on Sunday said that neither the party nor its top leaders had any knowledge of the incident.
His views come in the wake of a CBI court convicting 14 accused including a former CPI(M) MLA in this case on Saturday.
Speaking to the media, the CPI(M) leader assured that the accused in the case would face the law.
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“The Kerala Police had taken a firm stance in the case right from the initial stages,” he said, adding that the CBI merely completed the investigation initiated by the state police.
A special CBI court in Kochi on Saturday found 14 accused including a CPI(M) former MLA guilty in the murder of two Youth Congress workers Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal P K, 24, allegedly carried out 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 Congress is accusing the CPI(M) of murder, but people know which party is truly the killing party,” Balan said.
He alleged that a Congress worker had murdered a fellow party member in Thrissur a few years ago due to internal factional conflicts.
“Now, that same party is leveling accusations against the CPI(M),” he added. Earlier, Congress leaders attacked the CPI(M) terming the court verdict as a severe blow to the left party’s “culture of violence”.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, accused the CPI(M) of orchestrating murders with brutality surpassing that of terrorist organisations.
He also demanded an apology from the CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and accused them of misusing public funds worth crores to save the accused in the case. (PTI)
