Double Murder Case: SIT arrests two local CPI(M) leaders

Police sources said the leaders – the Uduma Area Committee Secretary K Manikantan and Periya Local Committee Secretary N Balakrishnan were arrested on charges of destroying evidences and facilitating relocation of the accused after committing the crime.

Two youth congress workers – Kripesh and Sarath Lal, were hacked to death by CPI(M) activists on February 17.

The police had earlier arrested a former party local area committee member A Peethambaran and few others in connection with the crime. However, the family of the victims had since long been poiniting their fingers on senior leadership of CPI-M for plotting and conspiring the crime.

The family members of Peethambaran however had raised their doubts on his admission of committing the crime and had told media that it was the party which must have plotted the murder.

Earlier, the prime accused A Peethambaran had retracted from his earlier admission of his involvement in the double murder. Peethambaran had earlier admitted that it was he who masterminded and executed the crime along with few others. Consequent to this, the CPI(M) had expelled him from the party.

Even after the arrests of the local party leaders of the Marxist party, the Congress leaders and the Youth Congress workers continue to allege that the arrest of the two leaders today were only an eyewash and that there are senior party leaders allegedly involved in the crime.

The police is supposed to file the chargesheet of the crime in 90 days of its taking over the investigation, which is due next week.