Periya Double Murder: Kerala Court Remands Five Accused Who Were Arrested By CBI To Judicial Custody

The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Ernakulam on Thursday remanded to judicial custody the five accused who were arrested in connection with the Periya twin murder case where two activists were hacked to death in 2019.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had arrested five party workers including the CPM Branch Secretary Raju. This is the first arrest recorded by the CBI after it took up the investigation. 

In an inclusion report submitted by the CBI today, ten more individuals, including former CPM MLA K.V. Kunjiraman, were arraigned as additional accused in the matter. In the FIR initially filed in the case, there were 14 accused. Upon the CBI completing its extensive probe, an additional ten persons were found to be involved in the plot. 

The CBI informed the Magistrate that the offences committed by these ten persons were grave and that they should face trial along with the accused mentioned in the FIR. They have been charged with offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) r/w 34 (common intention), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 341 (wrongful restraint), 326 (causing grievous hurt), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 212 (harbouring offender), 225 (obstruction to lawful apprehension of another person), 302 (murder) r/w 149 and 118 of IPC along with Section 27 of Arms Act 1959.

The Magistrate allowed the inclusion report and the ten individuals have been added as additional accused persons in the case. However, the arrest of these accused have not been recorded as of now. 

Background

The murder of two young men Kripesh and Sarath Lal, two Youth Congress activists on 17th February 2019 had caught the attention of the entire nation when the matter reached the Supreme Court.

The main accused was the Branch Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). It was found that there was personal as well as political enmity between the accused and the deceased persons.

The applicant along with the other accused had allegedly hatched a criminal conspiracy to murder the duo. Pursuant to this, they allegedly attacked the deceased with iron pipes and swords causing them fatal injuries. Both the activists succumbed to their injuries before reaching the hospital.

The investigation into the matter was initially launched by the Kerala Police. When the case reached the Kerala High Court in 2019, the investigation was transferred to the CBI. 

Case Title: Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI v. A. Peethambaran & Ors.