Kerala Muslim group denies role in chopping off professor's palm
Published: Jul 29, 2010 00:53 Updated: Mar 8, 2011 20:01
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Popular Front of India (PFI), the radical Muslim group which is under scanner after a hand-chopping incident in Kerala, has denied role in any act of terror.
Police have picked up at least a dozen activists of the group working for "job quotas and political empowerment of Muslims and other marginalized sections of the society" in connection with the incident though they are yet to reveal who planned and executed it.
The PFI said there were also a "series of police raids on its offices across the state, unlawful arrests, breaking into houses at midnight, closing down businesses and incidents of physical and verbal harassment of women" but no "objectionable documents or materials could be found".
"The Ernakulam district president of NCHRO (National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations) was arrested and jailed immediately after he moved the National Human Rights Commission against police harassment of innocent Muslims," it said.
The crackdown began after Prof T.J. Joseph, a college teacher accused of setting a blasphemous question paper which he had apologized for, was waylaid and chopped off his right hand in the central town of Muvattupuzha while returning home with his mother and sister after the Sunday mass on July 4.
"(The PFI had) immediately condemned the incident and clarified that it is not the organization's policy to be involved in such incidents. (It) also offered complete cooperation in the police investigation," it said.
The group alleged that there was a smear campaign against the community as part of a "conspiracy aimed at diverting their attention from development" and the entire community was being targeted under the guise of PFI bashing.
"With its presence in many states across India, the Front has become the driving force for change in the Muslim community," it claimed in a statement issued from its Bangalore headquarters on Tuesday.
Accusing the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) of communal bias, it said the "discrimination and Islam phobia" were the results of "communal imbalance in the administration" and "being an organization always adhered to the Constitution", it was worried about using a local incident to divide communities.
"This is a serious concern for the society. The secular fabric of the country is the most sacred element which binds the nation together and any attempt to destroy it by the communal forces, political parties or the biased media should be stopped to safeguard peace and harmony."
"Even the Chief Minister (Achuthanandan) joined the fray accusing Popular Front of planning to make Kerala a Muslim majority state within twenty years. All these were blatant lies as the Front is not involved in missionary work," it said.
Quoting "intelligence sources" some newspapers had recently said there were at least 13 "Taleban-style" courts called "Dar-ul-Khuda" or God's Court functioning in the state and one of them ordered the punishment against the "blasphemous professor."
However, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the state assembly on Tuesday that there was no information about the existence of such courts but Dar-ul-Qada (Court of the Qadi or Qazi), an initiative of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), was inaugurated in Malappuram in July last year by its secretary Maulana Mohammed Wali Rahmani to settle disputes among the believers.
The AIMPLB set up Dar-ul-Qazas across the country to deal with family disputes under the personal laws and to check Muslim families from going to courts that gave rulings on the personal law matters, including maintenance and it was under attack for being a parallel judicial system. Imams' Council of India under the aegis of PFI is running these courts in Kerala.
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