THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Public Works Minister G Sudhakaran on Friday rejected CPM leadership's claims regarding the murder of CPM leader Siyad in Alappuzha. According to the minister, Siyad was murdered for raising his voice against a mafia group. This is contrary to the claims made by CPM State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Earlier, Kodiyeri had alleged that Siyad was murdered by a quotation team backed by Congress workers.

Meanwhile, Sudhakaran said that there has been a serious lapse from the part of police as Congress leader Nizam, who helped the main accused, got bail recently. Earlier, the police too had stated that Siyad's murder was not a political murder. Mujeeb, the main accused in the case, has been remanded. Second accused Shafeek will be presented before the court on Saturday.