In the Periya double murder case, 14 individuals have been found guilty, while 10 accused were acquitted. The CBI special court in Ernakulam, presided over by Judge N. Seshadri Nath, confirmed charges of murder and conspiracy against the first eight accused. Former Uduma MLA K.V. Kunhiraman was also convicted.
The main conspirator, A. Peethambaran, a former member of the CPM Periya Local Committee, along with Saji C. George (Saji), K.M. Suresh, K. Anil Kumar (Abu), Jijin, R. Srirag (Kuttu), A. Ashwin (Appu), and Subeesh (Mani), was found guilty of murder.
Other convicted individuals include T. Ranjith, K. Manikandan (former Uduma Area Secretary and Kanhangad Block Panchayat President), A. Surendran (Vishnu Sura), K.V. Kunhiraman (former MLA and CPM District Secretariat Member), Raghavan Velutholi (former Pakkom Local Secretary), and K.V. Bhaskaran.
The court has scheduled sentencing for January 1. The case pertains to the brutal hacking to death of Youth Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal by an eight-member gang on February 17, 2019, in Periya. The accused faced charges including murder, conspiracy, and destruction of evidence.
