Expressing concern over the spate of political murders in the state, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday, 17 October, asked the government why most political murders in the state occur in the Kannur district. The divisional bench was considering a petition that asked for a CBI probe into the murder of seven BJP workers after the CPM-led LDF government came into power in May 2016.
The petition was filed by RK Ramdas, the secretary of Kannur-based Gopalan Adiyodi Vakkeel Smaraka Trust. Of the seven murders listed in the petition, four occurred in Kannur, reports the Times of India.
The Advocate General told the court that compared to other districts, Kannur district had witnessed fewer political murders. The statistics appear to be high because murders that occur out of family disputes are also counted as political murders, he said. He added that the Kerala government has taken all effective measures to end political murders and will hold peace talks, reports The Hindu.
The government said that there is no need to hand over the probe to any other investigating agency like the CBI, since local police were investigating the cases effectively.
The Court has directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit on 25 October and posted the case to 30 October, reports TOI.
The petition alleged that the state police is not taking effective steps in these cases.
In some cases, party activists from the constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are the accused, reports The Hindu.
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