Kasaragod youth tied up, assaulted; police book victim after video goes viral

Kasaragod: Adhur police booked a 25-year-old man on Tuesday night, hours after a video showing him tied with a nylon rope and being assaulted by a group of men went viral on social media, triggering allegations that police were reluctant to act against the assailants because they were linked to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

The victim, Mohammed Rafeeque of Bovikanam in Muliyar panchayat, is undergoing treatment at Kannur Government Medical College Hospital, Pariyaram, with alleged internal injuries.

Police, however, maintain that Rafeeque was assaulted after he trespassed into a house of an IUML leader while allegedly intoxicated and created a ruckus.

Based on the complaint filed by the wife of an IUML leader, Adhur police booked Rafeeque under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon, criminal house trespass, obscene acts, and criminal intimidation.

However, the case has drawn criticism because police registered an FIR against Rafeeque only after the video of him being assaulted went viral on Tuesday night, though police had rescued him and taken him to the hospital on Monday night. Moreover, the police have not yet booked (till Tuesday night) those seen assaulting him in the viral video.

Adhur Station House Officer Biju R C hinted that police rescued Rafeeque from the mob and took him to Kasaragod General Hospital on Monday night. "We only took him to the hospital. But he did not tell us that he had been assaulted," the officer said. The officer, however, did not explain why police had taken Rafeeque to the hospital if no assault had been reported.

The video of the assault surfaced on social media on Tuesday night and quickly went viral, prompting widespread condemnation. Police said the footage had allegedly been uploaded by some of the assailants themselves.

"We have booked Rafeeque for trespass and other offences. We will also book those who assaulted him. Those who uploaded the video probably did it to brag about the incident, but it has now come back to haunt them," the SHO said.

The FIR against Rafeeque was registered at 8.42 pm on Tuesday. However, even at 11.50 pm, no corresponding case had been registered against those who assaulted Rafeeque.

When asked about the delay, an officer at Adhur police station said a case against the attackers would be registered "in due course". "But it is a small case," the officer said.

Rafeeque's version of events differs sharply from the police account.

In his statement to police, recorded at Kannur Medical College Hospital, Rafeeque alleged that he had been called to the house of B M Harris and B M Ashraf, district leaders of the Muslim League-affiliated trade union STU, to discuss money he had lent to Ashraf's son Afreed while both were working in the UAE.

Rafeeque, who now works as a daily-wage labourer, said he had lent Afreed 8,000 dirhams, worth nearly ₹2 lakh at current exchange rates. After losing his job and returning home, he repeatedly sought repayment but was unsuccessful.

According to his statement, Rafeeque went to the family's house believing they would discuss repayment of the loan. Instead, he alleged, he was tied up with nylon rope and cloth and subjected to a three-hour assault, during which he was kicked and beaten with sticks, slippers and coconut leaf stalks.

Police initially took him to Kasaragod General Hospital and later sent him home after a preliminary examination. However, his condition deteriorated on Tuesday morning, following which he was shifted to Kannur Medical College Hospital, where doctors reportedly found internal injuries.

The incident has sparked political controversy, with the CPM accusing police of dragging their feet because the accused are associated with the ruling Muslim League.

In a statement, the CPM's Muliyar Local Committee alleged that League leaders had orchestrated a brutal assault on a youth who demanded the money owed to him.

The party also accused police of failing to promptly register a case against the assailants despite the emergence of video evidence.

The CPM further alleged that Muslim League leaders intimidated police officers who arrived at the scene on Monday night, an allegation denied by police.

Demanding the immediate arrest of those involved, the CPM said political pressure was being exerted to shield the accused despite visual evidence of the assault circulating publicly. The party called for a fair and impartial investigation into the incident.