Family of man killed for converting embraces Islam

members of the family of the 31-yearold man, who was brutally murdered by a suspected group of RSS workers for converting to Islam in November last year, in Kerala’s Muslimdominated Malappuram have decided to follow his footsteps.

Aneesh Kumar alias Faisal Pullani’s two sisters, a brotherin-law, and five of their children converted last week. Pullani’s mother Meenakshi Amma (Jameela) embraced Islam a month after her son’s killing.

Fearing backlash, Pullani’s family was moved to a safe location where they were learning basic tenets of the religion, a close relative said adding that their conversion was approved by Maunanthul Islam Sabha, a religious school in Ponnani.

Faisal, who worked as a driver in Saudi Arabia, was hacked to death in Kodinhi village on November 19, 2016, a year after he converted to Islam. Later, the police arrested 12 people, including his brother-in-law K Vinod, in connection with the murder. His family members said Vinod, an active worker of the VHP, had earlier threatened to kill him if he acted on his “conversion aspirations”.

“After her husband, Vinod, turned an accused in the case his wife (Faisal’s sister) had applied for divorce and she also embraced Islam,” the family member said adding that the local Muslim community is looking after the entire family now. “India is a secular-democratic country. We will not allow anyone to vitiate the communal fabric,” said district panchayat president AP Unnikrishnan. “Their conversion was not out of rage or protest. They were influenced by the religion and no coercion is there,” he added.

The BJP maintained it was only opposing monetary-involved conversions.

“We are not against conversion. But if it is induced by coercion or monetary involvement, it will spark tension. We have reports that in certain cases money is involved,” said BJP’s Malappuram district secretary Ravi Thelath adding that the Kodinhi incident was an isolated one.