AMN
Few months after Anil Kumar, alias Faisal, 30, was hacked to death in Kerala’s Malappuram district, allegedly by RSS activists after he converted to Islam, his father Krishnan Nair too embraced Islam and become a Muslim. Nair was the last in the family to embrace Islam, the police said, reports Indian Express. The family comes from Kodinji village in Malappuram district.
Soon after Faisal was killed on November 19, 2016, his mother Meenakshi had publicly dared the Sangh Parivar by converting to Islam. Two months ago, Faisal’s two sisters, one brother-in-law and their five children also converted. Police sources said Nair, an upper-caste Hindu, converted into Islam two weeks ago at Maunathul Islam Sabha in Ponnani in the district. Along with his wife, daughters and grandchildren, Nair is said to be now undergoing a course for newly converts at Markazul Hidya in Manjeri, Malappuram.
“Except one of Faizal’s brothers-in-law, Vinod, who is one of the accused in his murder, all others in the family have converted to Islam. The Muslim community considered Faisal as a martyr and ensured all support for his family members. This worked as a trigger for their conversions,’’ a police official said.
Faisal, who worked as a driver in Riyadh, had converted to Islam in 2015 in the Saudi Arabian capital. In August 2016, his wife Priya (now Jesni) and three minor children also converted, which had allegedly enraged Sangh Parivar members in the region. Following Faisal’s killing, 12 RSS and BJP workers were arrested, among them the victim’s brother-in-law. After their interrogation, the police had said that the killers feared Faisal would have triggered more conversions in the family. They said Vinod had allegedly guided the others about Faisal’s movements.
According to the police, the prime accused, Madathil Narayan, 47, is an RSS karyavahak in Tirur, Malappuram. He had been an accused in the murder of another Muslim convert, Yasir, in 1998, and was acquitted by the Supreme Court in July last year. All the accused in Faisal’s murder were released on bail recently. On August 25, the second accused, K Bipin, 24, a local RSS leader, was hacked to death by a six-member gang in what the police suspect was a retaliatory attack for Faisal’s murder. Another accused has escaped multiple attempts on his life, the police said.
The police have so far arrested four functionaries of Social Democratic Party of India, the political wing of radical Muslim outfit Popular Front of India, in connection with Bipin’s murder. The Union Home Ministry is reported to be examining recommendations made by the NIA for a ban on Popular Front of India for its alleged links.