Expressing concerns over the spate of political murders in Kerala, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday asked the government why most political murders in Kerala occur in Kannur district. The divisional bench was considering a petition that asked for a CBI probe into the murder of 7 BJP workers after CPM-led LDF government came into power in May 2016.

The petition was filed by R K Ramdas, the secretary of Kannur-based Gopalan Adiyodi Vakkeel Smaraka Trust. Of the seven murders cited in the petition, four had taken place in Kannur, reports TOI.

The Advocate General however told the court that compared to other districts, political murders are less in Kannur district. Since murders due to family disputes are also counted as political murders, the number seems to be high, he said. He also told the court that the Kerala government has taken all effective measure to end political murders and will hold peace talks, reports The Hindu

The government said that there is no need to hand over the probe to any other investigating agency like the CBI, since local police were investigating the cases effectively. The government also pointed that there was no allegation regarding the probe till date. The Court has directed the state government to file a counter affidavit on October 25 and posted the case to October 30, reports TOI.

The petition alleged that the state police is not taking effective steps or impartial probe in these cases. In some cases, party activists from the constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan are the accused, reports The Hindu.