Kasaragod : State Crime Branch police on Tuesday arrested two leaders of the ruling CPI(M) from Kasaragod district on charges of murdering two Youth Congress workers.

Sharath Lal (24) and Kripesh (22) who were members of the Congress party’s youth wing, were attacked on February 17 by three men. While Krupesh died at the Kasaragod district hospital, Sharath Lal succumbed to his injuries on way to a medical facility in Mangaluru city of Karnataka.

The police arrested Manikandan and Balakrishnan following their detailed questioning by the Crime Branch team, a spokesperson said.

With this, the total arrests in the case have gone up to 13 and one person on the radar of the police has fled the country, officials said.

The Congress party and its Kasaragod Lok Sabha candidate, Rajmohan Unnithan, have made this murder a major election issue and are expecting to pull off a surprise win in a seat that has been held by the CPI(M) over a long period.

Reacting to the arrests, state Congress President Mullapally Ramachandran told the media in Thiruvananthapuram that he is not happy with the probe and that the state police should investigate more thoroughly in order to unmask the real culprits.

The state CPI(M) Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has on past occasions dismissed the need for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the crime.

CPI(M) local leader Peethamabaran had been earlier arrested in connection with the case.

A scuffle had taken place between the local CPI(M) and the Kerala Students’ Union (students’ wing of the Congress) activists of Munnad People’s College, a self-financing institution, in Kalyott, in Kasaagod prior to the attack on Kripesh and Sharath Lal. This sparked violence between the opposing groups and led to clashes between DYFI workers {youth wing of the CPI(M)} and Youth Congress workers.

Kalyott is a stronghold of the Congress. During the scuffle, Peethambaran got injured. Sharath was named as the prime accused in the case.

This is assumed to be the reason for the accused to carry out the attack.

Later they were granted conditional bail by the Hosdurg Court.

The bail was granted on the guarantee of two people and Rs. 25,000. The court has also directed the accused to report themselves to the investigating officers at any said time.

The two activists were charged with tampering evidence and helping the culprits go into hiding as per sections 201 and 212. Former CPM local committee member A. Peethambaran is the prime culprit in the case. The incident leading to the case was in February when Sarath Lal and Kripesh were hacked to death by a group.