Kannur woman dies by suicide following moral policing by SDPI activists, three arrested
Kannur: In a disturbing case of moral policing, a 40-year-old Muslim woman, Razeena, died by suicide in Kannur -- hometown of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan --after being harassed by three activists of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
Razeena was found hanging in her room on Tuesday, but the incident came to light on Thursday. A suicide note recovered from the scene named three local youths and detailed the events that led her to take the extreme step.
Acting on the note, police arrested the three individuals, all SDPI activists from the locality, and produced them before a court. They are now in judicial custody.
According to the police investigation, the chain of events started on Sunday when Razeena was seen talking with a male friend near his parked car. A group of men approached them, verbally abused Razeena, and ordered her to leave. They then turned on her friend, forcibly seized his mobile phone and tablet, and accessed private conversations between the two.
The youths reportedly held the man hostage for nearly five hours and later took him to a local office. They then summoned the families of both Razeena and the man, revealing the contents of their private chats. After that, the male friend was let off.
Following the public humiliation, Razeena returned home, disturbed. Two days later, she was found dead in her room. In her suicide note, she cited the trauma and humiliation caused by the incident as the reason for ending her life.
Following the recovery of the note, police have launched a deeper investigation into the case to determine whether more individuals were involved in the incident. It was only after the arrests that police were able to recover the confiscated mobile phone and tablet.
The case has sparked outrage in the locality, raising concerns of moral policing.
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The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
Kannur suicide: Woman's family claims no case of moral policing, police say couple was intimidated
'This (relationship) started three years ago. She has had a lot of debts since the friendship began. She was also ignoring us lately. We didn't know about the relationship until recently. The men who have been arrested don't usually cause any problems. They are our own people, my sister's sons. They intervened and questioned them since they saw the two of them together,' Raseena's mother told the media on Friday. According to the police, the woman died by suicide on Tuesday, a day after the activists harassed her. While the police have arrested three men based on the suicide note found on the body, the woman's family on Friday said the accused, who include her relatives, were not moral policing the victim. The arrested men, identified as K.A. Faisal (34), V.K. Rafnas (24), and C. Mubasheer (28), have links with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). Thiruvananthapuram: Days after a 40-year-old woman died by suicide at Kayalod in Kerala's Kannur district due to alleged harassment by Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists for talking to a male friend, conflicting narratives have emerged from the police and the woman's family. The mother claimed that the group spoke to the couple and then took the man, Rahees, to a nearby SDPI office, where the families of both were called in. 'They just asked him to settle the money,' she said. However, Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P. refuted the family's claims and said the arrests were based on evidence found at the scene, including the suicide note. The police officer said that on the evening of the incident, which happened in the jurisdiction of the Pinarayi police station, Raseena was talking to her friend Rahees when three men approached them on motorcycles. 'They spoke in a derogatory manner, threatened them, and took away their mobile phones,' he said. The suicide note, he added, pointed to the psychological trauma she experienced during this confrontation. 'The note mentioned that several people threatened and portrayed them in a negative light, they also snatched her friend's phone. It indicated that she chose to end her life because she felt they would not be allowed to live,' Nidhinraj P. said. Based on the note and digital evidence recovered from the accused, the police took Faisal, Rafnas, and Mubasheer into custody. The commissioner noted that while the suicide note does not blame Rahees, he will be questioned to clarify the circumstances. 'Further investigation is needed to determine how many people gathered (at the SDPI office) and who among them humiliated the woman,' Nidhinraj P. said, adding that the financial allegation, made by the family, will be investigated. He added that Rahees has been missing since the incident, though he is not an accused in the case at this stage. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Highest IPC crime rate among states, most IPC chargesheets filed — what NCRB data says about Kerala
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Woman's suicide: Family denies moral policing charge, police claim evidence
Kannur: The suicide of 40-year-old Razeena at Kayalode here following moral policing by a group of SDPI members took a turn on Friday, with the woman's family defending the youths arrested on the basis of her suicide note and refuting the allegations of harassment. Police, however, maintained that they have got evidence of moral policing. Razeena, a mother of three, was found dead at her home in Pinarayi village on Tuesday. Police on Thursday arrested three members of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), on charges of suicide abetment. The arrested are V C Mubsheer (28), K A Faisal (34), and V K Rafnas (24) — all residents of the locality. However, Razeena's mother, Fathima, said on Friday that the arrested youths had no role in her daughter's death. She claimed that they only spoke to Razeena and her male friend at a nearby SDPI office about their financial dealings. "Their relationship started around three years ago. The man extorted money from her, leaving her in a debt trap. But we came to know about their relationship only recently," she said. Fathima said the arrested youths are their relatives and they only intervened to settle the financial dealings. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like London: If You Were Born Between 1945-1974 You Could Be Eligible For This British Seniors Read More Undo "They saw Razeena and her friend talking to each other on the road; the man was taken to a nearby SDPI office to discuss the matter. Both the families were also called in. The man was not assaulted there," she said. Kannur city police commissioner Nithinraj, however, refuted the family's claim and said police acted on the basis of evidence collected from Razeena's house. He said Razeena was talking to her male friend when the youths approached them on a motorcycle. "They spoke in a derogatory manner and seized their mobile phones and a tablet. Later, they took the man to the SDPI office," he said. He said Razeena's suicide note clearly spoke about the trauma she underwent due to the incident. "A detailed investigation is needed to examine how many people gathered at the SDPI office. The allegations raised by the family on financial dealings between Razeena and her friend will also be investigated," he said. Razeena's family, meanwhile, lodged a police complaint against Razeena's friend, seeking an investigation of his financial dealings with her. The family alleged that the man, a resident of Mayyil, extorted money from the woman. Senior CPM leader and All India Democratic Women's Association national president P K Sreemathi termed the incident as 'Talibanism'. It is unfortunate that a section of people still believed that a woman should not talk to any other man other than her husband, she said.
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
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Chart a path out of dark woods
But turf war in this fishing town— where Muslims mainly belong to the Nawayat sect and speak Nawaity, which is close to Persian—was brewing between the RSS and Muslim organisations for control of the municipality. This led to riots in 1993, in which 19 people from both communities were killed. In 1996, Dr Chittaranjan was shot dead in his house. The probe was handed over to the CBI, which could not arrive at any conclusion over the killers. Despite the murder, neither Bhatkal nor Uttara Kannada had witnessed any major communal incident till recent times. The BJP tried to paint with communal colours the death of one Paresh Mesta near Honnavar in 2017, and held massive protests across Karnataka. But the CBI, which probed the death, concluded it was an accidental death, not murder. However, the saffron outfit's electoral gains were massive. It has won all Lok Sabha elections from 1996 till now, except once, from the Uttara Kannada seat (two assembly segments here belong to Belagavi district). However, the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts were different. The worst years of communal violence in these districts were 1998, 2003 and 2006. In each of these years, at least eight people were hacked to death, many of them in a cycle of retaliations. In 2022, three murders took place in a span of only eight days; in 2025, three deaths happened within 30 days. Why these killings and riots? The reasons are many: vigilantism, moral policing, hate speeches, desecration of religious places, targeting of interfaith relationships, use of religion as a political tool, public and police complicity in terms of informing, inept handling of the incidents by the government of the day, selective law enforcement, withdrawal of cases against the accused, and fake news on social media. Even minor incidents become huge communal flashpoints these days, thanks to viral posts on social media. The incidents are so politicised that it's difficult to control the situation once the fire is lit. Political leaders from both sides of the divide often fan the flames. Has this region reached a point of no return? Maybe not, if the government spares no effort taking tough steps to eradicate communal forces. It also needs to stay neutral, bring community leaders for regular peace meetings, cleanse the police of bias and nexus, and above all, unhesitatingly take action against anyone, including political leaders, involved in stoking communal tensions. But all this is easier said than done. B S Arun | Senior journalist based in Bengaluru (Views are personal)
