'Periya murders cannot be justified’: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

After the murders of the two Youth Congress workers, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that such murders and attacks cannot be forgiven.  “What happened in Periya, cannot be

justified in any way,” he said in a statement on Friday.

22-year-old Kripesh and 24-year-old Sarath Lal were hacked to death in Periya in the Kasaragod district of Kerala by a gang of men on February 17, while they were returning after a function.

The statement by Pinarayi Vijayan comes three days after a local CPI(M) leader in Kasaragod was arrested by an investigation team that is probing the murder of the two Youth Congress

workers.

“The CPI(M) does not have any liability to justify such wrongdoings and we have taken a stern stand on this,” the CM said. Stating that the police have been instructed to take strict action

against the perpetrators, Pinarayi Vijayan has also said that whoever has committed the crime will be answerable to the law.

“The United Democratic Front (UDF) government must have misused the police when they were in power but such misuse of power will not take place when the LDF government is in power,” he said.

“Police will do their job and will take action against the perpetrator regardless of who he is,” the CM added.

Since the double murder occurred, the CPI(M) has been severely criticised.

The CM also did not hold back in his criticism of the media. He stated some sections of the media appeared to glorify the Congress party. “Such false campaigns by the media comes from a

desire to destroy the Communist party, which was risen to power by overcoming bigger attacks than this,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.

Earlier, there were reports that the CM would visit the families of Kripesh and Sarath Lal during his Kasaragod visit on Friday to lay the foundation stone for the CPI(M) district office.

But according to reports, the CM is said to have cancelled the plan following the non-cooperation of the District Congress Committee (DCC) in Kasaragod.