KASARGOD: By seeking an adjournment, the state government has made clear its intention to ‘vehemently oppose’ the plea for a CBI probe into the murder of Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal PK, said Congress leader and senior lawyer CK Sreedharan. The state wants a senior counsel to appear on its behalf in the case and that is a giveaway, he said.
If the CPM and the state government were sincere in their condemnation of the murders, they should not have opposed the prayer of the family for a CBI probe and dragged the case, he said.
Last Sunday, veteran Congress leader AK Antony urged the Chief Minister not to oppose the plea ‘if the CPM and the government had nothing to hide’. “If you oppose the petition, people will understand that the CPM and the Chief Minister are trying to protect the culprits,” he had said after meeting the family members of the Kripesh and Sarath Lal at Kalliyot.
Sarath Lal’s father Sathyanarayanan said the state government was using taxpayers’ money to ‘deny us justice’. “In Shuhaib’s case, the state government invested `22 lakh on expensive lawyers to oppose CBI probe. It is taking a similar stance to deny us justice,” he said.
To be sure, police have arrested nine persons, mostly CPM workers and one CPM member, in connection with the double murder. The CPM member has since been expelled from the party.
Sathyanarayanan alleged the Crime Branch was trying to turn the murders into a case of personal enmity rather than political killings to save the skin of the CPM leadership. “There are too many pieces of evidence to suggest that there was a conspiracy behind the crime. Only the CBI will be able to unravel it.”