Malappuram: A banana has undone a ‘genie’(djinn) in a Malappuram village.
At Thirunnavaya, a group of villagers watched people raving over a supernatural force endorsed by what seemed like spiritual shenanigans.

Then, they found a way to confront a supposedly powerful spirit — not with exorcists or holy men, but with a medium-sized banana. They carried the fruit into the ‘Djinn’s’ den, placed it before the man claiming to command its powers and waited for the miracle. The miracle never happened. And within hours, the men who had claimed supernatural powers were on their way out of the village.

For nearly two months, a self-styled spiritual leader known as CM Usthad and his assistant Alavi had been attracting people to a spiritual centre at Kodakkal, claiming to offer spiritual remedies with the help of a Jinn. People from different parts of Kerala and neighbouring states had reportedly begun arriving at the centre, drawn by videos of purported miracles circulated through social media platforms such as Instagram. But it was another social-media video — this time involving a banana — that prompted the villagers to take a closer look at what was happening inside the centre.

The incident that eventually brought the ‘Djinn’ face to face with the villagers took place on Sunday. Before a gathering of believers, CM Usthad claimed that a banana possessed the supernatural power of ‘Abbas Djinn’. The Djinn, he claimed, sat beside him on the stage, chanting prayers and speaking in a mix of Urdu and Arabic. As believers stood in prayer, the banana was put up for auction. The bids climbed until one person paid ₹2,000 for the ‘powerful’ fruit.

Then came the spectacle. When the winner peeled the banana, the fruit inside was found to have been cut into several pieces while its outer skin appeared intact. To those gathered there, it was presented as a wonder — a feat made possible by the power of the Djinn. A video of the unusual banana soon spread across social media, attracting widespread attention. For the villagers, however, the video raised a different question: if the Djinn could perform the feat once, could it do it again?

On Wednesday, a group of villagers walked into the spiritual centre carrying a banana of their own. They handed it to CM Usthad and challenged him to recreate the same miracle in their presence. This time, the banana remained just a banana.

"The Usthad took the fruit, examined it and turned it over while we watched. Unable to perform the feat, he eventually returned the banana to us. For the villagers, that moment was enough. What had been presented as supernatural power before an audience of believers had failed when confronted with a simple test and an ordinary banana brought from outside," said Siraj Parambil, a villager and state head of the White Guard volunteer organisation

The villagers then confronted the two men and asked them to leave the village.

Siraj identified the real name of CM Usthad as Jamaludheen, a native of Muvattupuzha, and said Alavi, who allegedly posed as the Djinn, was from Kollam. He also alleged that Jamaludheen had been involved in similar activities elsewhere and had practised as an Ayurvedic doctor without a licence.

According to the villagers, CM Usthad (Jamaludheen) and Alavi left Kodakkal the following day.

“Earlier, it was an acupuncture centre. It was converted into a spiritual healing centre only about two months ago. When we realised that hundreds of people from different parts of Kerala and even outside the state were coming here seeking spiritual healing, we decided to find out what was actually happening,” said Siraj.

The banana was not the only video that had begun circulating. Another video, reportedly shared by the centre itself through social media, showed a visitor presenting Usthad with ₹50000 and perfumes. The videos had helped build an aura around the centre and its alleged spiritual powers, according to villagers.

Meanwhile, Tirur Inspector Abdul Jaleel said the special branch of police had filed a report directing an inspection at the centre. "We have limitations in initiating legal action as there is no complaint directly connected with the centre," he said.

Ashraf Rangattur, Kuttippuram block panchayat president, claimed that the centre did not have a licence from the Thirunnavaya panchayat even to operate as an acupuncture unit.

According to Ashraf, the spiritual leader had also claimed that the centre was connected to “Bandhar Sheikh”, apparently linking the name to Bandhar Kadavu in Thirunnavaya. But Ashraf said the claim had no historical basis. The name, he said, appeared to have been confused with Shah Bender Koya, a Muslim figure associated with the Zamorin and the maritime administration of Kozhikode — not a Sufi saint connected to the place.

“The claims were completely misleading, and the so-called miracles were fraudulent,” Ashraf said. “It was social media that first brought the alleged miracles to public attention, and later the same medium helped expose them.”