Hindu convert to Islam hacked to death in Malappuram
- Anil Kumar converted to Islam while he was in Riyad
- He converted his wife and three children and wanted his mother to accept Islam
- The man was hacked to death on saturday, a day before he was to fly back to Saudi Arabia, where he was working as a driver
FollowIn a shocking incident, a native of Kodinji in Malappuram, who had converted to Islam was brutally hacked to death by unidentified men. Though police have not made any arrests rumours are that he was targeted not only for converting to Islam but for encouraging others to do so.
Anil Kumar, fondly called as Unni, converted to Islam eight months ago while he was at Riyad. He accepted the name Faisal and returned home in August. He also converted his wife Priya and three children to Islam. Faisal also encouraged his mother to convert and had made arrangements for the same.
Faisal was attacked on his way to the railway station to receive his in-laws on Saturday. His body was found by the roadside and the auto rickshaw he used for transportation was found abandoned. His head was almost split open, and his entrails gouged out by the assailants.
The neighbours said Faisal, who belonged to a Nair family, had received death threats from his relatives after he accepted Islam. However, he did not take it seriously. He was planning to take his wife and children to Saudi, where he was working as a driver.
Police sources said he was not the first person in his family to embrace Islam. His uncle and family had taken on new faith years ago. "Many of our family members had converted to Islam. Only my son was targeted," his mother Meenakshi said.
"It was his choice and no one compelled him. Unni was attacked a day before he was to fly back to Saudi Arabia. Some of our relatives were not happy about his decision," his father Krishnan Nair said.
Kodinji village is dominated by the Muslim community, and there are only four Hindu families near Faisal's home. His wife had started to attend a course at Maunathul Islam Sabha, Ponnani and children were attending Arabic classes, after converting to Islam.
This is the second murder in Malappuram in which a person was killed for converting to Islam. In 1998, Ayyappan, a part-time temple priest was murdered, allegedly by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activists after he moved to Islam and took the name Yasir. Though Kerala High Court convicted the accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court later acquitted them.
