Kasaragod: The police here on Wednesday booked over 300 persons including members of Youth League, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) for allegedly raising provocative slogans during a march.
The march was organised by the Youth League near Kanhangad on Tuesday in solidarity with the victims of violence in Manipur. An officer of the Hosdurg police station said the cases were registered against 307 identifiable persons including Muslim Youth League National Council Secretary V K Fyzal Babu and its district leaders who participated in the march.
Police registered the case based on a complaint filed by BJP's Yuva Morcha Kanhangad constituency president.
They have been booked under various sections of the IPC, including 153A, which deals with promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony. They have also been booked under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), and 149 (Every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of a common object). No arrests have been made so far, the officer said.
Youth League suspends member
As the video of the provocative sloganeering went viral on social media, the Youth League expelled its member Abdul Salam from Kanhangad who raised the provocative slogans from the organisation.
In a statement, Youth League State President Panakkad Sayyid Munavvarali Shihab Thangal expressed deep regret over the incident and said creating hatred between various communities is not the policy of the Muslim League. Youth League State General Secretary P K Firoz said Abdul Salam from Kanhangad Municipality was expelled from the Youth League as he raised slogans that are against its ideology. He also said the worker shouted slogans deviating from the printed version given to the workers for raising during the march.
Slamming the Youth League and Muslim League, which is a key ally of the Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala, the BJP alleged that the provocative slogans were raised with the support of the CPM-led LDF government and that the southern state "is now the new pit of rabid radicalisation".
BJP's National Information & Technology in-charge Amit Malviya alleged in a tweet. "Are Hindus and Christians now safe in Kerala," he asked.
(with PTI inputs)
