By Shafeeq Hudavi, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: Hameed Peediyakuniyal’s wife, Aysha, is seven months pregnant and they are thankful to God that the baby in her womb is fine despite brutal attack on her. On January 22, in broad day light, a frenzy mob, masked and armed with sticks, inflammable liquids, etc. attacked their house in the village of Thuneri, Nadapuram in the district of Kozhikode, Kerala. Hameed’s wife pleaded him to run away from the back door, in the belief that the men would spare her, as she was pregnant.
The frenzy mob, however, pressed a steel rod at her stomach threatening to kill her unborn child and forcefully took away her gold and other valuables. All the while a police patrol was right around the corner, the family alleges. She had to be shifted in an ambulance to her parents’ home after the incident.
CPIM flag is seen placed in one of the houses ransacked in Nadapuram.
After they left, another gang arrived, trashed of whatever had remained in the house before putting it on flame.
Ayesha’s case was not the only one whose house was attacked that day though. On January 22, violence, allegedly led by local CPIM activists, erupted in various villages of Nadapuram in Kozhikode district of Kerala, following the murder of Shibin, an activist of the Democratic Youth Front of India, (DYFI), the youth outfit of CPIM.
Shibin was murdered allegedly by a gang of youth, comprising of Muslims due to some personal dispute, however, the incident soon got communal colours and in the consequent mindless violence, houses of more than 50 Muslims in the localities were targeted by the gangs of alleged CPIM workers.
Barring few, most of the houses that were attacked had either no male members or were too old to defend; and the fact that the attackers were so emboldened to unleash the violence in broad day light, speaks of the falling law and order situation in the state.
Thayyil Yousaf is an NRI working in Qatar for the last 27 years. His wife Fousiya had returned a day before from Qatar, her bags were yet to be unpacked. Little did they know the welcome that was planned for them in God’s own country! The pattern of attack was similar to that followed in Ayesha’s house; masked perpetrators came in batches, looted the house one by one, before setting them ablaze.
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The first gang, with three masked-members who were armed, arrived broke the lock of the house and entered forcefully. Fousiya was held at knife-point and robbed of her gold ornaments at around 12 noon.
As TCN visited the villages and spoke to the victims, almost all the houses had similar story to narrate.
Fousiya’s aged-mother, Madathil Khadeeja, who lives in the house right next to her’s, on hearing screams from Fousiya’s house ran without any concerns for herself. Even she was not spared. When she reached the car porch, two armed men held her at knife-point and ordered her to hand over her jewellery.
“They held a machete at my neck. One of the men was wearing a white shirt and lungi and the other yellow kurta. Both had their faces covered. They forcefully and painfully removed my gold ornaments,” Khadeeja told TwoCircles.net.
Even then she was not allowed to enter the house of her daugther. When she returned back to her own house, two police men arrived there, and asked, “Is anyone there?” on hearing the screams. The police brought them to Khadeeja’s place and left, after saying, “If you fear for your life, go somewhere else.”
Soon after the police left, another gang arrived, looted and trashed the place, before setting them ablaze.
Fousiya’s son Wahid, says, he called the police several times when the miscreants returned, but was disappointed at the cold response that he received from them. His grandmother said, “He kept calling the police for help. After many calls I heard him say ‘I am Wahid. My house is burning. Why are you not coming? I can see a police jeep right near my house. Please send help.”
The house of Fousiya that we inspected was completely charred, its furniture destroyed, glass shards lay shattered on the porch and inside the house, utensils broken, china-wares lay scattered on the floor, and whatever that remained were burnt in the fire. This house is no longer inhabitable, as several others.
The attackers took help of inflammable liquids, cow dung, LPG or whatever they got hold of to burn the houses. Even vehicles standing outside houses were torched down.
Close to sixty houses were torched in the carnage in less than a day time on January 22. The number of people that have been displaced, mostly women and children, are in hundreds. What is more intriguing is that it’s been almost two weeks and the government is yet to wake up to realise the magnitude of the devastation – both financial and mental agony. The loss of rupees 3 crore estimated by the tehsildar, is further rubbing salt to the victims, who consider the loss manifold, besides the trauma they had to go through.
Even in 2001, about 14 years ago, Nadapuram had communal tension had erupted in 2001, that is considered a blot on the secular fabric of the state. Nonetheless, people here moved and learned to forget bygones and live in harmony, until January 22.
But the violence and destruction that rained in Thuneri and surrounding villages on January 22 will be counted among the few atrocities in India in which the state looked the other way and let the anti-socials hold democracy and secularism at knife-point, literally.
CPM district committee, however, refuted allegations levelled against the party and put the blame squarely on the IUML saying its stands were protecting the miscreants. District secretary P Mohanan Master, in a statement, said that IUML was intervening to save the culprits in the murders. “Ismail, the prime suspect of Shibin murder case, was saved by the party when he was booked by the police while he was booked under Goonda Act,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, CPM leader and Nadapuram MLA EK Vijayan called for an all-party meeting to avert the undesirable happenings. He said that the recommendations of the all-party meeting have been forwarded to the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. ”It is expected that next cabinet meeting will take a favourable step in this regard,” the MLA added.
Torched vehicles in Nadapuram.
Police accused of Inaction and bias
What makes this episode even more disturbing is the fact that the police did not do anything to stop the violence, local residents allege. Eye-witnesses say that the police let the miscreants torch houses, loot them and hold women and children at knifepoint.
IUML and Samastha Kerala Jam’eyathul Ulama, the largest body of Muslim scholars in the state, say that dozens of Muslim families in Velloor and Chalappuram in the affected area are still living in fear two weeks after violent mobs targeted their homes. According to them, the police remained silent spectators.
“I saw a mob of around 300 men at 10 am on Friday (January 22). They attacked our house from every side. My children, grandchildren and I had a miraculous escape because we hid in a room,” said K M Aboobacker, a resident in Chalappuram, adding, “Though I sought the help of police nothing was initiated to save us.”
The litany of complaints continues. “Policemen, who came to the house after the attack left in the morning saying their “duty” was over. We continuously called the police station when the attack resumed, but police came only in the evening,” said Sajira, whose house was attacked and destructed.
The police finally arrived, but only by late evening; by the time the mob had gone after attacking and burning several houses. Fousiya said that the police turned their eyes away during the violence. “We are scared. Look after yourselves and surrounding,” is what the police said to her.
V V Muhammadali, district vice-president of Muslim Youth League, alleges that the police “did nothing” to disperse the mobs.
Alleging criminal lapses by the police in effectively containing the violence Samastha Kerala Jam’eyathul Ulama also urged for appropriate actions against them by the authorities. Its spokesperson, Musthafa Master Mundupara told Twocircles.net that the police had miserably failed in preventing the violence, which led to the destruction of more than 50 houses and looting in the area.
“It is mysterious that despite the presence of police with thousands of cops led by two DYSPs in the area, the violence continued for up to five hours,” he said.
Accusing the police of “several deliberate flaws”, Musthafa said that the cops didn’t record the violence. “The numbers of the vehicles involved in the violence was not recorded. The mob was targeting Muslim houses in front of a mute police force,” he alleged.
“The violence has testified that the police was communally motivated. The force in such sensitive areas should not give false motivation and give representation to all communities as per the direction of the Sachar Committee,” he said.
The reluctance of UDF and IUML leadership to visit the spot also came under heavy criticism.
“The concerned ministers and IUML leaders are yet to visit the spot even after outcries. Only a village officer visited the area to assess the losses. Chief Minister and Home Minister should visit the area to get a true picture of the losses,” said Sunni Mahallu Federation (SMF) state secretary, A V Abdul Rahman Musliyar.
He also demanded a comprehensive fact finding team and provide due compensation for the victims. “Just after the violence Samastha had sent a team to the area and the reports along with a letter will be sent to the concerned ministers and officials,” he added.
He said that Samastha will organise a meet of the victims in Kozhikode seeking due compensation.
While talking to a national daily district police chief PH Ashraf rubbished the allegations. “The allegations raised against the police are baseless. We had deployed adequate force to avert the possibilities of a riot looming over the areas. How can we resort in to firing and lati when they take the body of the murdered youth for funeral, “Ashraf said.