Kasaragod: Nilambur MLA PV Anvar, once a confidant of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and now a staunch critic, is becoming a force for victims of government neglect and police injustice.

On Saturday, he arrived in Kasaragod to amplify the case of Yakoob Abdul Sathar, a 57-year-old autorickshaw driver who took his own life after police withheld his vehicle for five days. But the crowd that awaited him at PWD Rest House included tipper truck drivers and auto drivers, healthcare activists and also the family of revered Islamic scholar CM Abdulla Moulavi, whose mysterious death in 2012 remains unresolved.

They said Anvar is a leader who is unafraid to challenge the system and be their voice. Anvar played the part of the saviour well, resorting to rhetorical chastisement. "The government knows it can get away with anything because the people of Kasaragod have time only for eating mandi," he said, trying to shame them to act, to revolt, to join his movement. Anvar aims to tap into the growing resentment against the government, at least in Malabar, a sentiment that typically favours the UDF.

He said he was pained when he saw the video of Kasaragod Town Sub-Inspector Anoop P manhandling autorickshaw driver Noushad P  

"People were watching it as if it was a movie. People were passing by in cars. The people of Kasaragod have lost the capacity to question. The people of Kasaragod have turned into such shameless people. Just see that video," he said.

He did not stop there. "People of Kasaragod do not have time to get out of their AC rooms. You don't read the newspaper. You don't try to understand what is happening around you," he said. "Here, people have been politically castrated by all political parties." The only way out, he warned, is for vigilant youth to rise. "If they are also lulled, Kasaragod will spiral into a state from where there is no return," he said.

Anvar said the people's "pucca slave" mentality was the reason why the government did not get convictions in communal murder cases, including Riyas Moulvai murder case, or make progress in building the medical college or even find out how Abdulla Moulavi, the Qazi for Chembarika and Mangaluru, died. "The government sends the worst employees to Malappuram and Kasaragod because the people do not react," he said.

Anvar slammed the mainstream political parties for not stepping in to help Abdul Sathar when his autorickshaw was illegally impounded by police. "Not for one day, or two days or three days. For four days. Why did no political party or trade union take up his case and stage a protest," he said, blaming Sathar's death on the political parties, too. "Did any leader go to the police station and ask why this poor man's autorickshaw was impounded for days? Was there any leader who questioned it?" he said.

Abdul Sathar's autorickshaw was impounded by Kasaragod Town Sub-Inspector Anoop P on October 3, who refused to release it for four days. Sathar narrated his ordeal live on Facebook before taking his own life in his rented house near Kasaragod Railway Station on October 7.

"A section of police officers under ADGP Ajith Kumar MR has been turned into goons. The sub-inspector (Anoop) is a fighter of that gang," he alleged. He said the government, reeling under financial crisis, has set targets for police and the police, like robbers waiting near festival grounds, target two-wheelers and autorickshaw drivers. "He (SI Anoop) should be dismissed from service as a matter of exemplary punishment. Any Home Minister with a sense of moral responsibility would take that step—I certainly would have,” he said as the crowd erupted in applause for the first time. Anvar had previously called Vijayan a complete failure as Home Minister and urged him to step down from the role.

"The SI should be made to drive an autorickshaw for a living. No one else should have the courage to do this again," he said to another round of applause.

The only contribution of the LDF government over the past eight years has been turning government officials into arrogant, belligerent, and violent individuals," he said, criticising the government for remaining silent on Sathar's death and backing up the police.

Anvar said the government had the responsibility to help the Sathar's family orphaned because of police highhandedness.

He met Abdul Sathar's son, Sheik Shaneez, at the Rest House, and offered financial support to the family. He urged the people of Kerala to contribute as well. Sathar is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son, all of whom live in Mangaluru.

Anvar said his Democratic Movement of Kerala (DMK) would take up issues more than it can handle if the people stood by him. He said talks are on to set up ad hoc committees of DMK at all levels in seven districts.