KASARAGOD: The LDF government rehabilitated the wives of three CPM supporters, accused of murdering Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal PK, by offering them temporary jobs as sweepers in the District Hospital.
The appointment has created an uproar in the district with the Youth Congress activists taking out a protest march to the District Hospital. Congress MLA and deputy leader of the opposition K Babu called the appointments 'cruel' and urged the government to review its decision.
BJP district president K Shreekanth said the jobs were an incentive to encourage violent politics.
District Hospital officials said the appointments were made by the Hospital Management Committee headed by District Panchayat president Baby Balakrishnan of the CPM. There were four posts of clean staff, and the posts were notified through the Department of Public Relations, said an official. "We drew up a list of 100 persons after interviewing around 450 persons," he said.
The first four persons on the list were appointed on May 17 for a wage of Rs 500 per day. After six months, the next four persons on the list would be considered, he said.
Of the four persons on the list, three were wives of the accused in the murder case of Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal. Manjusha, wife of A Pethambaran -- the first accused in the double murder case; Chinchu, the wife of the second accused Saji George; and Baby, the wife of the third accused Suresh.
"These appointments reveal the cruel mind of Pinarayi Vijayan and the LDF government," Babu said.
The government is also mocking the lakhs of eligible youths by appointing them to the government hospital, Babu said. "The families of the victims are orphaned. Is this the welfare model of the LDF government?" he said.
Kripesh and Sarath Lal were murdered on February 17, 2019. All the 14 accused are either members or supporters of the CPM.
'Families of accused living in penury'
The families of the accused in the Periya double murder are living in penury. Peethambaran's wife Manjusha said she had an aged mother-in-law and two children to take care of. "That is why I applied for the post of sweeper," she said.
She said her family was being ostracised. "If a neighbour talks to me, others will question her. I am not included in the rural job scheme either," she said.
Chinchu and Baby have two children each -- aged between seven years and 11 years. "All of us are in the same situation," she said. Chinchu said she still gets abusive phone calls. Last day, police arrested a person from Payyannur for making abusive calls to Chinchu.
Manjusha said she was working in the isolation ward for Covid patients in the District Hospital. "I have to be in the PPE kit for hours but it gives some anonymity," she said.
After seven days on duty, she returned home on Friday. "We have not yet gotten our first month's salary and this is the news going on on TV. It is giving me splitting headache," she said.
CPM district secretary M V Balakrishnan said the party played no role in getting them a job. "But if they got a job, that too the job of sweepers, the Congress should not try to snatch it away. It will be cruel. Denial of their right to life. If they had any other means, they would not have taken up this job," he said.