Moral policing: Flex war in Malappuram after CPM activists click photos of siblings at bus stand, assault them

Malappuram: CPM leaders of Edavanna are in the dock as an undergraduate student and her younger brother approached the police alleging they were beaten by the members of the outfit in what the siblings called an episode of 'moral policing'.

The incident, in addition to erecting a notice board warning the students in Edavanna and questioning their morality has now turned out to be a political tussle between the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) wing in the area and the ruling party of the panchayat, the CPM.

One of the siblings alleged that the panchayat president and the local CPM leaders attacked them on Thursday. Shimla, undergraduate student at a college in Wandoor pursuing her final year of studies and her brother Shinshad, a plus two student at a school in Edavanna, along with their friends were allegedly manhandled by a group of people including CPM leaders of the area. Shimla alleged that the mob attacked them while she questioned a person who clicked their photos with his mobile phone.

"Me and my younger brother were waiting at the bus stand to go home alongside a few of our friends. While we were talking, a man who was involved in some work near the bus stand clicked our photographs and recorded our video. We asked him to delete what he shot and informed him we are siblings. But he replied that he would circulate the photos and video in different WhatsApp groups. So we decided to go to the police station and file a complaint. But before we could leave the bus stand, a group of people including the CPM leaders from the area assaulted my brother and his friends. They also insulted me on moral grounds," Shimla said.

The siblings said the police were not ready to take action on their complaint immediately. They only recorded the testimony after Shimla went on Instagram to share the sufferings they had gone through.

A flex board was erected soon after the incident threatening the students against gathering near the bus stand after 5 pm. The board erected in the name of 'Edavanna Janakeeya Koottayma' warned that the public would manhandle the students gathering on the bus stand premises after 5 pm. Meantime, another board in the name of Vidyarthi Paksham Edavanna was erected as well in the town questioning the legality of the board erected earlier.

"What happened in Edavanna has brought disrepute to the entire people of Edavanna. We can see the CPM local secretary and other leaders in the visuals manhandling the students. If they have any complaints about the behaviour of students, they have to approach the police instead of beating them. IUML would take up the issue; we would question the integrity of police in this case," said V P Lukhman, IUML leader from the area.

Meanwhile, the police removed both boards on Sunday morning and registered an FIR based on the complaint of Shimla under the IPC sections pertaining to insulting the modesty of women, voluntarily causing hurt, and the Kerala Police Act section of taking photographs or recording videos or propagating them at any place in a manner affecting the reasonable privacy of women.

However, has denied the allegations levelled against its leaders. Panchayat president and CPM leader T Abhilash said he had not attacked anyone.

"CPM is against moral policing. I have only tried to resolve the issue. There is no role for the panchayat or CPM in erecting such a board at Edavanna promoting moral policing," Abhilash told Onmanorama.