Kasargod, May 14 (IANS): State Crime Branch police on Tuesday arrested two leaders of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) from Kasargode district on charges of murdering two Youth Congress workers.

Krupesh, 19, and Joshy, 24, who were members of the Congress party's youth wing, were attacked on February 17 by three men. While Krupesh died at the Kasaragod district hospital, Joshy succumbed to his injuries on way to a medical facility in Mangaluru city of Karnataka.

The police arrested Manikandan and Balakrishnan following their detailed questioning by the Crime Branch team, a spokesperson said.

Murdered Congress workers - Kripesh and Sarath Lal

With this, the total arrests in the case have gone up to 13 and one person on the radar of the police has fled the country, officials said.

The Congress party and its Kasargode Lok Sabha candidate, Rajmohan Unnithan, have made this murder a major election issue and are expecting to pull off a surprise win in a seat that has been held by the CPI-M over a long period.

Reacting to the arrests, state Congress President Mullapally Ramachandran told the media in Thiruvananthapuram that he is not happy with the probe and the state police should investigate more thoroughly in order to unmask the real culprits.

The state CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has on past occasions dismissed the need for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the crime.