Adhur police in the Kasargod district of Kerala registered a case against an Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader S M Muhammad Kunji (55), a Muliyar Panchayat 2nd Ward member. He allegedly sexually assaulted a minor boy by giving him methamphetamine (MDMA).
Kunji is also the IUML President of Muliyar Panchayat and the in-charge of Povval Juma Masjid. The youngster was subjected to unnatural sex. The accused was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The latest reports suggest they have also been booked for kidnapping and trafficking a minor.
The school student victim could not take it anymore and finally approached the police. A case of violent attack has also been registered against Kunji and local IUML activist Taizeer. IUML district leadership informed that Kunhi had been removed from party duties. Both child sodomizers Kunji and Taizeer are currently absconding, and their mobile phones remain switched off.
According to the complaint, Kunji sexually assaulted the child several times by giving him MDMA. The police FIR mentions that a 55-year-old man raped a 15-year-old student near a crusher unit. The latest incident happened on 11 April. If convicted, the accused face a prison term of life but not less than ten years. Adhur Police Station House Officer (SHO) Anil Kumar A claimed they had started searching for the accused.
Though the Povval mosque committee is said to have removed Kunji, no official announcement has been made. Meanwhile, the CPI Muliyar Local Committee demanded that concrete legal action be taken against Kunji, who molested the student. They insisted that the IUML ask Kunji to resign instead of protecting the leader.
This issue has been discussed among the local mosque committee members and Muslim leaders for several days. Instead of filing a complaint, they attempted to settle it. For this, three senior IUML leaders are allegedly said to have met the victim’s relatives.
Finally, the student’s family presented the matter to the police. They contacted the district police chief, and as per his instructions, they took the minor to the Kasargod women’s police station and recorded their statement. The case was transferred to the Adhur police station, and an FIR was registered.
Shocking Revelations
Local online media Marunadan Malayalee claimed their reporter Burhan Thalankara met the student, and the revelations are shocking. The minor said that Taizeer gave him the narcotic drugs, and he has been addicted to MDMA for the past year. Taizeer gave MDMA to several students, and many youngsters in Povval are now addicted to narcotics.
Taizeer forced around 25 minors from the area to use MDMA. Once they got addicted to the narcotic drug Taizeer started intimidating them. The minors were forced to be at his beck and call. Those who refused were threatened with dire consequences.
Taizeer took the minor to Kunji’s factory (crusher). “Once there, Kunji removed my trousers and did unwanted things,” said the victim. Several children from Bovikanam (a nearby village) too were trapped. Taizeer supplied Kunji with boys and received monetary benefits in return.
Everyone knows Taizeer, and some tried to file complaints against him. His friends tried to file a police case but to no avail. Marunadan Malayalee also claimed that several others used the minor drug addicts for sodomy. They added that since the matter was under police investigation, they could not disclose several other case details.
IUML & A History of Sexual Violence Against Minors
IUML leaders have a long history of committing sexual atrocities against minors. Prominent ones include the infamous Ice Cream Parlor Case against IUML National General Secretary/Deputy Leader of opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly/former Kerala Industries Minister/Malappuram Vengara MLA P K Kunhalikutty. He was allegedly more interested in minor girls from Kozhikode.
In January, HinduPost reported that a Muslim Youth League leader accused of sexually abusing 5th-standard girls near Edappal in Malappuram was arrested by Kerala police. Kumaranelloor native Samad, a former Kapoor Gram Panchayat member, and Muslim Youth League leader, was arrested by the police under the POCSO Act. Samad sexually assaulted several children studying in the primary school of Vattamkulam panchayat.
In May 2022, HinduPost reported how four prominent Islamists were arrested, including an IUML leader, a madrassa president, and a middleman for sodomizing a 14-year-old boy. The incident happened at Karinkallathani near Perinthalmanna on the Malappuram Palakkad border. Manjeri police registered a case and arrested Koloth Najeeb, Kozhikattil Abubakar, Pakath Jaleel, and Kozhippen Ashraf.
In September 2021, Mathrubhumi reported the case of a sexual assault on a fourteen-year-old girl in a car by a local IUML leader, P M Haneef (55). He was arrested and booked under the POCSO Act by Pazhayangadi (Kannur) Sub Inspector K Shaju. Haneef was the IUML Kalliasseri constituency secretary.
In April 2020, The Hindu reported that the Thamarassery police in Wayanad booked a local IUML leader on the charge of sexually abusing a minor boy. The case was registered against O.K.M. Kunhi under the POCSO Act. According to the police, the victim was a 16-year-old boy who was allegedly brought to the accused’s home for some domestic work. The alleged sexual assault took place on 19 March.
Unfortunately, the list is endless.
Fearing the wrath of the vengeful IUML leadership, most POCSO cases involving the closed Muslim society go unreported. The IUML is a Congress ally in Kerala. While the ruling CPM is wooing the IUML for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, some IUML leaders are comfortable with the BJP.
