A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Kochi on Friday sentenced 10 persons to life imprisonment, while four others, including a former Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA, received five years in prison for the murder of two Youth Congress workers at Periya in Kasaragod district five years ago.
The court which convicted 14 accused on Saturday gave 10 of them life imprisonment under two counts of murder and criminal conspiracy. They will serve the sentences concurrently. These 10 accused were charged with murder and criminal conspiracy under Sections 302, 120(b) read with 149 of the IPC.
"They have been sentenced to life imprisonment on both charges, to run concurrently," the prosecutor said after the court pronounced the verdict.
The accused who were given life imprisonment include former CPI-M Periya local committee member A Peethambaran, Saji C George aka Saji, Suresh KM, Anil Kumar K alias Abu, Gijin, Shrirag R aka Kuttu, Aswin A alias Appu, Subeesh alias Mani, Ranjith T aka Appu and A Sruendan alias Vishnu Sura.
Meanwhile, former MLA and CPI-M district leader KV Kunhiraman, Kanhangad block panchayat president K Manikandan, Raghavan Velutholi, and AV Bhaskaran, were sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the court.
They were charged under Section 225 (obstructing or resisting the lawful apprehension of another person) of IPC.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on each of the 10 convicts who has been awarded life imprisonment, while a sum of Rs 10,000 as a fine was slapped on the four others, including the former MLA Kunhiraman.
"Once the fine amount is realised, the same shall be paid to the parents of the deceased in equal proportion as compensation," the order said.
In the case of the 10 convicts who got life imprisonment, set off will be considered by the government at the time of remission, if any, the order stated.
"It was revealed during investigation that the accused Peethambaran A, along with other accused hatched a criminal conspiracy near the bus waiting shed at a place called Echiladukkam in Periya Village and decided to murder Kripesh and Sarathlal due to political rivalry and enmity towards the deceased persons," a CBI spokesperson in a release said.
After completion of investigation, CBI filed chargesheet on December 3, 2021, against accused persons, including those convicted and sentenced by the court, the release added.
On December 28, of the 24 accused, the court found the first eight guilty of murder and conspiracy charges, another six guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and providing assistance in the operation of the crime, while the remaining 10 accused were acquitted in the case.
The case pertains to the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh, 19, and Sarath Lal P K, 24, allegedly by CPI-M workers on February 17, 2019.
According to the prosecution, the twin murders were carried out following politically motivated attacks and counterattacks between CPI-M and Congress workers in the area.
Meanwhile, the family members of the victims welcomed the verdict but said they would approach the high court seeking maximum punishment for the convicts after consulting with the Congress party and the prosecutor, as they expected the death penalty to be imposed on the accused.
Krishnan, father of Kripesh, said that CPI-M leaders implicated in the case received only five years of imprisonment, a reduction in punishment.
Leader of Opposition, VD Satheesan. stated the verdict in the Periya case was a heavy blow to the CPI-M's culture of violent politics.
Speaking to the media, he said the people of Kerala now understand the emptiness of the CPI-M's repeated claims of having no involvement in the case.
Satheesan also added that any further appeal proceedings would be undertaken in consultation with the families of the slain victims, adding that the party would extend its full support and assistance to the families.
Meanwhile, CPI-M state secretary M V Govindan responded to the verdict by stating that the CBI court's decision is not final.
Speaking to reporters, he said that the party will resist the political move to implicate it in the case, accusing the CBI of attempting from the initial stage to create the impression that the CPI(M) was involved in the case.
Govindan further claimed that the CBI's investigation uncovered nothing beyond what the police had already found, adding that action was taken against the accused party leaders on the same day they were implicated in the case.
Senior public prosecutor, CBI, Y Bobby Joseph stated the verdict is highly satisfactory.
"All the convicted persons received appropriate punishment, and the court thoroughly examined whether the case met the criteria for the rarest of rare cases," he said.
The prosecutor added that the death penalty was not awarded as the court concluded it did not fall within the purview of the rarest of rare categories.
The court allowed the convicts to remain in Central Prison, Kannur, considering the convenience of their family members.
The accused had submitted that their family members have nobody to fall back on for their survival as they all depend on them and are not in a position to make visits as they are housed in the jail in Ernakulam.
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