Kasaragod: The brutal murder of two Youth Congress workers allegedly by CPM activists at Kalyott here had rocked Kerala in February and with it political violence emerged as a major campaign pitch ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to be held in the state on April 23. Even as a probe is on, a vilification campaign against the murdered youth is on allegedly by the Leftist activists. Krishnapriya, the sister of one of the victims Kripesh, has written an open letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, highlighting this.

The Left’s portrayal of Kripesh and friend Sarathlal as goons hurt us immensely, she says in the letter. Why they are being denigrated even after they were chopped down, she asks.

Kripesh and his friend Sharathlal were hacked to death by a gang on February 17.

The translation of the letter is here:

Dear chief minister...

This is Krishnapriya, Kripesh’s sister. I was planning to write to you ever since my Brother left us. Your party’s cruel portrayal of him and Sarath as goons pains us immensely. As far as I know, my brother hurt no one. There were no such complaints against him until death. Yet he was killed in the cruellest way possible.

Our family consisted of my parents and brother. We had no property or house, and grappled with poverty. The only breadwinner of the family is my father. But we lived happily in a hut. I was confident my brother will do well in studies and take us out of penury. We were overjoyed when he joined the polytechnic at Periya. We dreamed of better days when he becomes an engineer. But fate willed otherwise. SFI activists attacked him relentlessly. He dropped out unable to bear their threats and abuse and started helping father in his work.

Father was your party member, sir. He brought a handful of sweets home on the day you were sworn in. He voted for CPM all his life. He lived among Congress supporters for 18 years in Kalyott. Everyone knew his political affiliation, but none asked him to switch allegiance or stopped him from voting.

Father hoped you would drop in the day you passed by our place after my brother’s death. He went to sleep crying that night, saying you might have been too busy to visit. Sarath too was a brother to me, and for other kids like me. We have been left with the bitterness of their loss for the rest of our lives. Not even God can bring them back. But you can make sure no brother’s blood or mother’s tear is spilled on our soil. I don’t know why police are unable to catch those who killed him.

Why are their murderers besmirching their names? Their mothers’ lives have changed forever. These verbal abuses stab those poor souls in the heart. Please refrain from denigrating my brothers at least for their mothers’ sake. It is a request from two families rendered orphan. I hope you will intervene in this issue considering me like a daughter.

With love,

Krishnapriya