KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has stayed the quantum of sentence awarded to four accused in the Periya double murder case. The high court froze the sentence of four including former MLA K V Kunhiraman. With this, there is a possibility of their release from jail.

Former MLAs K V Kunhiraman, Manikandan, Raghavan Velutholi and K V Bhaskaran sentenced to five years in prison by the CBI court, will be released from prison with the high court verdict. The very next day after the CBI court sentenced them, these five accused, including the former MLA, were shifted from the Ernakulam District Jail to Kannur Jail. Many party leaders and activists, including P Jayarajan, had visited them in the jail.

A local journalist had seen Saji, the second accused in the Periya double murder case, when he was absconding without being arrested after the murder. He then took a picture and informed the Bekal police. When the Bekal ASI came to arrest him, these four accused, including the former MLA K V Kunhiraman, stopped the police and shifted him. The CBI sentenced them in this incident.

After the verdict, the CPM had said that they would legally challenge the case in the higher court. Following this, they filed a plea in the high court on behalf of the four. They also accused the CBI of playing politics. It is clear from the freezing of the sentence that these arguments were made to validate them in court.