Nearly three years after the murder of Kripesh and Sarat Lal, two local leaders of the Indian National Congress in Kasaragod district, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested five CPI(M) activists in connection with the case. Raju ( CPI-M branch secretary), Surendran, Sastha Madhu, Hari Prasad and Reji Varghese were arrested by the CBI team lead by deputy superintendent Ananthakrishnan on Wednesday afternoon. Kripesh and Sarat Lal were waylaid and murdered by unidentified persons on 2019 February 17 at Periya in Kasaragod. Though the local police which investigated the case had arrested two CPI(M) activists, there was a public outcry against the investigation and the Pinarayi Vijayan led Government had transferred the probe to the Crime Branch of the State Police.
Some more persons were arrested by the Crime Branch and a charge sheet was submitted in the Hosdurg Court on 2019 May 20. But the local population was not satisfied by the Crime Branch Police and there were allegations that the latter was trying to subvert the case by arresting fake persons to save the real murderers. The Kerala High Court which heard the petition filed by the parents of the deceased quashed the charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch and ordered the transfer of the case to the CBI. Though the Kerala Government had questioned the single bench order, the division bench upheld the order transferring the case to the CBI.
But the Kerala Government approached the Supreme Court demanding the quashing of the Kerala High Court verdict. By a strange coincidence, the CBI arrested all the five accused on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court verdict. All the accused are being transported to Kochi to be presented before the Special CBI Court by Thursday morning.