Wives of Periye case accused given jobs against rules: Youth Congress

‘Appointed as sweepers for 6 months in Kanhangad hospital’

Youth Congress workers staged a protest in front of the Kanhangad district hospital on Saturday, alleging that temporary jobs were provided in the hospital to the wives of three accused in the Periye twin murder case.

Youth Congress leader Pradeep Kumar said the hospital, which was under the district panchayat, had temporarily appointed the wives of three persons allegedly involved in the murder of Youth Congress activists Kripesh and Sarath Lal at Periye in 2019. He said the appointments, for a period of six months, were made to the post of sweeper.

Inquiry sought

“The backdoor appointments of Manju, wife of the first accused Peethambaran, Shruthi, wife of second accused Surendran, and Baby, wife of another accused Suresh, were made last month in total violation of rules and regulations,” he said. Mr. Kumar demanded an immediate inquiry and added that the appointments should be cancelled.

Sathyanarayanan, father of Sarath Lal, said he was not surprised by the appointments. “The government should have supported the families of the victims and provided them jobs,” he said. From the beginning, the government had been supporting the accused. These appointments only confirmed the government stance, he said.

Kasaragod district panchayat president Baby Balakrishnan and the hospital authorities were unavailable for comment.