The Trial proceedings in the Periya Twin Murder Case began on Thursday and the first witness Sreekumar examined at the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) court.
What is Periya Twin Murder Case?
On February 17, 2019, two Youth Congress activists, 19-year-old Kripesh and 24-year-old Sharath Lal Joshy were allegedly attacked by few motorcycle borne men in Periya, Kasaragod district, while returning from an event.
Their bodies were covered in deep lacerations. Sarath’s leg bones were deeply cut, and Kripesh’s skull was split in two. According to forensic experts, Sarath’s body had at least 20 injuries.
Sharath Lal died on his way to a medical facility in Mangaluru, Karnataka, while Kripesh died at the Kasaragod district hospital.
The CBI took over the investigation on December 14 last year. In connection with the double murder, the Crime Branch had previously arrested 14 CPM supporters and members, including CPM leader and Kanhangad block panchayat president K Manikandan. It also concluded that the CPM workers, led by the first accused, killed the two Youth Congress workers out of personal animosity.
After being arrested, Peethambaran, a member of the CPM’s local committee, was suspended from the party. However, on September 30, 2019, the Kerala High Court quashed the chargesheet and transferred the case to the CBI. The High Court reasoned that the Crime Branch’s chargesheet was based solely on the accused’s statements and that no forensic tests were conducted on the weapons allegedly used to kill Sarath Lal.
The Crime Branch had also listed rods as weapons used in the attack on the two Youth Congress workers, but a postmortem examination revealed that their bodies had no injuries from such weapons.
Nonetheless, the LDF-led state government contested the High Court order and went to the Supreme Court, but it was unable to prevent the CBI from taking over the case. In the process, the state government ruined nearly Rs 1 crore in public funds and delayed the investigation for more than a year.
On December 14, 2020, the CBI began its investigation again by recreating the crime scene at Kalliyot. The High Court gave the CBI a four-month deadline to submit the chargesheet on August 4, 2021. According to DySP Ananthakrishnan, the CBI will try to submit the chargesheet before the deadline expires. KV Kunhiraman, a CPIM leader and former MLA, and K Manikandan, a CPIM leader and Kanhangad block panchayat president, are among the 24 accused.
