One week after a Christian mob led by one Justin brutally attacked a Hindu Janjatiya youth Bineesh on camera, Adimali police refused to use the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prohibition of Harassment Act (SC/ST Act). Kerala police claimed they could not impose this section as no one has come forward with a complaint.

Videos of Justin and his gang’s violence, especially against the Janjatiya, are viral on social media. The coward was seen beating up the Hindu, who is half his size. Ultimately, SC ST Commission intervened in the matter and registered a case.

No, we are not talking about Janjatiya Viswanathan, who was reportedly lynched by an unknown mob (allegedly jihadis) inside the Kozhikode Medical College. This latest victim was there to participate in the temple festivities. Justin and his gang also disrupted the temple festival and abused Hindu rituals.

The incident happened inside a Hindu temple while the festival was in progress, and the attack injured several temple committee members and worshippers. After much delay and Hindu protests, police arrested three out of a dozen accused persons. The initial incident happened after dusk on Friday, 17 February, and Kerala police delayed the arrests till Monday.

A team led by Adimali Circle Inspector (CI) Cleetus K Joseph identified Kulangara Justin (40), Sanju (35) from Kocheri, and his brother Sanoj (33) and detained them. Incidentally, the Adimali CI has been hastily shifted to Wagamon police station. His replacement is also a Christian officer.   

A few Christian anti-socials arrived at SNDP Santhigiri Sree Maheswara Temple in Adimali on the foothills of Munnar in the Idukki district. They were intent on disrupting the Sivaratri festival. They reached the temple premises, insulted Hindu rituals, and heckled temple officials. A fight broke out, and they pounced on Bineesh.

The assailants turned their ire on the vulnerable Janjatiya young man and beat him mercilessly. As the mob brutally assaulted him, the young Hindu man ran into the temple to escape the attack. Justin and his goons then barged into the temple without removing their footwear. 

They attacked Temple officials who tried to prevent them and abused Hindu Bhagwans and the devotees who had gathered there. Three people were seriously injured, including two temple officials, Kannikattil Ullas and Jayabhavan Jayesh. Several Hindu pilgrims sustained minor injuries.

The Christian mob interrupted the Sreebhoothabali ceremony and delayed the Pallivetta by an hour and a half. Though Temple officials requested the police personnel for help, they refused and remained mute spectators. Instead of teaching the Abrahamic a lesson, Hindus refused to protect themselves, mentioning that it was a ‘temple.’

This same attitude pushes these fringe elements to interrupt Hindu rituals and customs. Due to the timely intervention of the temple officials, more untoward incidents did not occur. Devotees alleged that the whole intervention was preplanned. 

Local police refused to arrest the accused or even register a complaint. This forced devotees to protest, and they carried out a dharna through Adimali town under the leadership of the temple authorities. Temple President Devarajan Chempothinkal led the protests on Saturday.

During the press conference, Temple office-bearers demanded the attackers be arrested immediately and punished. The Christian mob disrupted rituals at the Shanthigiri temple, attacked devotees, shouted obscenities, and hurt Hindu religious sentiments. They alleged that a crowd had gathered to disrupt the festival, attended not just by Hindus. Following public pressure, Kerala police agreed to lodge an FIR against Justin, Sanoj, Sanju, and other unknown persons.

Local police tried to delay proceedings against those accused of desecrating a Hindu temple. Instead of arresting the offenders immediately, they summoned all three of them to the police station. They were released after ‘questioning’ on both Saturday and Sunday.

By Monday, some local channels and media reports began mentioning the incident, and that is when Justin and his gang were arrested. There are allegations that this time lag helped the accused influence victims and witnesses. Police did not even attempt to find the rest of Justin’s gang and are yet to detain them.

Meanwhile, so-called neutral media have justified the violence and are twisting the facts. They claimed it was a fight between two groups and alleged that one group (Hindus) ran into the temple and the others (Christians) merely followed. Another argument is that the conflict resulted from a dispute over blocking vehicles in front of the stage where a performance was held.

Are vehicles driven by Hindus allowed entry into the crowd at mosques and churches during their festivals? Are some fringe Christian groups trying to follow jihadi/green communist footsteps and incite communal violence in Kerala?

Why do Hindu deity haters always target Janjatiya Hindus for violence? What happened to the Janjatiya victim Bineesh, and where is he now?

All three accused were produced before the Adimali court on Tuesday and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. Adimali police station SI K M Santhosh said they had intensified the search for the remaining three suspects. What about the other six troublemakers from Justin’s gang?

Recently, HinduPost reported how Parakulam Temple inside the forest in the Pathanamthitta district was attacked and desecrated. That incident, too, happened around Shivrathri in a Shiva temple and was allegedly perpetrated by Pentecostal missionaries. As if the jihadi menace was insufficient, Christian fringe groups are now openly engaging in arson, violence, and desecration of Hindu places of worship.

Vishwanathan Mob Lynching Accusations – Kozhikode

On Tuesday, K Sudarshan, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) from the Medical College Police Station, informed the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) that Viswanathan committed suicide after some individuals questioned him following a theft. Vishwanathan, a Janjatiya from Wayanad, was found hanging near the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, on 11 February 11. He had gone to the hospital for his wife’s delivery.

Sudharshan said that a few persons waylaid Viswanathan near the main gate of the Institute of Maternal and Child Health attached to the hospital, accusing him of theft, around 12.40 a.m. He stated that there are no CCTV cameras in the part of the medical college hospital where the incident took place. The ACP informed that the police had not found any evidence to make anyone responsible for the incident, and an investigation is underway. 

Viswanathan’s family alleged that he was beaten up by a mob accusing him of theft and that he was lynched to death. The relatives had also filed a complaint against the security personnel who questioned Viswanathan at the security gate. Public opinion suggests that a neutral third party investigate the matter and bring forth the truth.