Author:
Publication: Organiser
Date: December 17, 2000
P.K.M. Abul Hassan
Moulvi, aka Chekanur Moulvi, a wellknown Muslim scholar and orator who
went missing from his residence on June 29, 1993, is reported to have been
strangled by the militant elements in his community who were incensed by
the Moulvi's unorthodox views on religious matters. A group of these
religious zealots took him to Kozhikkode at 9 p.m. telling him that
some members of a karate team have decided to follow his principles.
The CBI which has been probing the case since September 10, 1996, has successfully
come out with its reports on the case and two religious zealots V.
Hamza Sakhafi (31) and Hamsa (27) have fallen into the CBI net giving the
first breakthrough in the case. The search for the remains of Moulvi's
body is going on in a hill, Chuvannakunnu near Kondotty in Malappuram so
that it may give significant clues that would help the CBI nab the others
involved in the incident. To give a final form to the probe the DIG
of CBI in Mumbai Shri B.L. Bishnoy has arrived in Kerala. Following
the arrest of the culprits in connection with the murder case, hundreds
of activists of a religious organization are reportedly assembled in Kozhikkode
city. The gathering is told to have bad intentions inlcuding the
defence of raid in any religious centre and creating chaos and confusion
throughout Malappuram and Kozhikkode.
The Intelligence Bureau
has come to know about the large number of telephone calls made from a
centre in Kozhikkode to different religious centres in Malabar. While,
the State Government has shown a keen interest to know more about the probe
and the arrest of these accused. It has plans to seek the advice
of the CBI and to hold discussion with them on the consequences if some
mandarins are to be arrested in connection with the case. The State
Government is also instructed to influence the CBI to avoid the arrest
and to prevent them from submitting the chargesheet in the court.
However, the State Government is badly hurt by the CBI accelerating the
case. Anyhow, the arrest of two culprits in connection with Chekanur
Moulvi's murder has given some twists to the case. The probe makes
it vivid that the conspiracy was carried out in a religious centre.
One of the accused V.V. Hamtza Sakhai was graduated from this centre.
The head of this institute was deadly against Moulvi's reform works among
Muslims.
The disputes between
the Mujahid division and the head of this religious centre had culminated
in revenge. And it is also made clear that the jeep used to abduct
Moulvi which is presently in the custody of the CBI belongs to an advocate
who is one of the authorities of this centre. The case was handed
over to the Crime Branch when the district police Superintendent Umman
Koshi was going on with a thorough probe just after Moulvi's abduction
on June 29, 1993. Then, the Crime Branch Superintendent Dr.
Aboobacker Haji with three Circle Inspectors and seven Sub-Inspectors took
over the investigation but it ended up as an abject failure. And
lastly CBI took charge of the case and they have found some of the retired
mandarins in the Crime Branch who were investigating case, well-placed
in the management of the religious centre. Some members of the Crime
Branch are alleged to have destroyed some important evidence in the case.
According to the CBI's report more than six people are involved in this
case and three of them have gone into hiding in some foreign countries.
And they say there is
something fishy on the activities of the Sunni Tiger Force, a Muslim organisations.
However, the arrest of these culprits has made two points quite evident.
The first is when the CBI probe was slept over, the Central Civil Ministry
and the Prime Minister's Office had adopted strict measures to intensify
the investigation (Madhyamam, 28-11-2000). The second is the Crime
Branch after investigating the case had identified the real culprits but
let them go hiding into foreign countries under the influence of some Muslim
mandarins. Furthermore, CBI has brought into light that the same
group of culprits is responsible for the explosion in Kozhikkode Mujahid
Centre which took place just before the abduction of Chekanur Moulvi.
The CBI also suspects that the man who devised the plot to strangle Moulvi
with a piece of cloth is behind the murder of a young RSS leader in 1996,
in Trichur district.
The conspiracy will be
unveiled as soon as the culprits escaped into the foreign countries are
caught. Anyhow, the blame of Moulvi's missing on BJP is already wiped
out with the arrival of CBI with its report. Earlier it was also
alleged that the Central Government showed no interest in the case since
some members of BJP are involved in it. P.S. Sreedharan Pillai,
the State BJP Vice-President and party spokesman, has demanded the release
of a White Paper which can convey the clear details of Chekanur Moulvi's
murder to the public. He also added that the arrest of two culprits
as well as the startling disclosure of the details of the murder case is
the great achievement of CBI headed by Seema Aggarwal from Chennai.
BJP had struggled a lot to implement CBI probe on this case and the investigation
was stepped up when Shri Vajpayee took over his office as the Prime Minister.
BJP had already announced the names and details of the accused in connection
with this case including the names of some extremist groups like Jam Iyyathul
Ishaniya. Chekanur Moulvi who has pinned hopes on some reforms among
his brethren in Islam exemplifies Confucius' meaningful statement: "To
enlighten everyone is always painful".
