Kasaragod: Two CPM activists, who were sentenced to double life imprisonment for the murder of Youth Congress members Sarathlal and Kripesh at Periya, have been granted parole. The jail advisory committee is expected to decide within two days on the parole applications submitted by two other accused in the case.

Those who received parole are second accused Saji C George and seventh accused A Aswin. The applications for parole by first accused A Peethambaran and fifth accused Gijin are likely to be disposed of in a couple of days.

Meanwhile, the report on the parole application of A Surendran (Vishnu), the 15th accused in the murder case, has been submitted after including the opinions of the Bekal police and the parents of Sarathlal and Kripesh. According to sources, both the victims’ parents and the Bekal police have opposed granting parole to Surendran, with the police citing potential law and order issues as the reason for their objection.

The decision on parole is taken by the Home Department based on the reports submitted by the police and the jail advisory committee.

Meanwhile, District Congress Committee (DCC) president P K Faizal said that the government’s move to grant mass parole to those undergoing life sentences in the Periya double murder case was a mockery of the judicial system. "The government and the police will be responsible for any law and order issues occurring after the release on parole of those sentenced by the court," he added.

Youth Congress district president Karthikeyan said that the move to grant parole to the convicts in the twin murder case would be opposed by legal and political means.

Congress workers exonerated
In a related development, a court has acquitted all 24 accused, including UDF district leaders, in a case filed based on a complaint by the CPM. The CPM had alleged that UDF activists launched an attack on the Red Star Club, located in a building that also houses the CPM local committee office, causing damage estimated at ₹55 lakh.

The complaint, filed by Club president Krishnan, said that at 3 pm on February 18, 2019, when the last rites of Sarathlal and Kripesh were conducted, UDF workers had caused destruction in the Club and set the building on fire.

Based on the complaint, the Bakel police registered cases against 26 persons, including UDF district convenor A Govindan Nair, the then UDF district chairman M C Kamaruddeen, the then panchayat president C K Aravindan, Pylee (Vinod), Kiran, Lalu, Razak, Umesh, Prasanth Nambiar, Jayan, Rajesh, Purushothaman and Sivaprasad. Two of the accused, C K Aravindan and Siddharth, were later removed from the list.

The judgment exonerating all the accused was delivered by Judge Achinthyaraj Unni of the Additional Sessions Court, Kasaragod.