The Keralam Assembly on Wednesday strongly condemned attempts to give a communal colour to the deaths of three young people after a speeding Mini Cooper rammed their scooter earlier this week. The controversy erupted after a social media campaign questioned why two Hindu women were out late at night with their Muslim male friend, which drew sharp criticism from the victims' families and political leaders.
Two young women, Devika and Gopika, and a man, Iyas, all around 21 years old, died in the accident, which occurred at around 1.30 am on October 11 near Kochi airport. The driver, Suhail Sajeev, was caught by locals and handed over to the police.
Following the accident, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader, KP Shashikala, questioned on social media why the young women had gone out for tea with a male friend at such a late hour and blamed their parents. While she did not explicitly invoke a Hindu-Muslim narrative, several people who shared and amplified her remarks questioned why Hindu women had been allowed to go out at night with a Muslim man.
Gopika's family strongly objected to the remarks, describing them as unfortunate and condemnable.
Shashikala said, "Our children, who travel far away from home to study or work, are now rushing around in the middle of the night for a cup of tea! This is not the first such accident. I am not saying that tea is the cause of the accident. According to the Vedic way of life, the period between 8 pm and 4 am is considered tamasik (associated with darkness and inactivity). That is the time meant for sleeping."
Reacting to the remarks during a press interaction, Gopika's father condemned attempts to give a communal spin to the tragedy and said Shashikala should have spoken to the family before commenting on their lives.
"People are asking why girls are going out, and that too, two Hindu girls with a Muslim boy. We strongly object to those comments. Shashikala is the reason this kind of campaign started on social media. They should have first asked us how our family has been living and then commented. The dirtiness she spoke has been taken up by thousands of people," Gopika's uncle, who was sitting beside her father, said.
Gopika's father also said his daughter had informed him before leaving home on the night of the accident.
KERALAM ASSEMBLY SLAMS COMMUNAL CAMPAIGN
Responding to a submission on the issue in the Assembly on Wednesday, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala condemned the communal remarks made in the wake of the deaths.
"What kind of communal remarks are being made! When an accident happens, suddenly people write communal remarks on Facebook. It is inhumane. Three children have died and everybody is pained, but these people are spreading communalism," he said.
Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan also endorsed the minister's condemnation of the remarks, urging the Assembly to denounce attempts to give the incident a communal angle.
"No one should view an incident like this through a communal lens. A campaign of the most despicable nature is underway. We must condemn it," the CPM leader said, urging the House to take a stand against such campaigns.
Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan subsequently condemned the communal colouring of the incident, saying it went against the ethos of human society.
"It is true that various incidents happen in different places, and there will be people on different sides, belonging to different religions and castes. If we view everything through a communal lens, we cannot move an inch in Keralam. This is unfortunate. We cannot support such campaigns. This Assembly condemns those responsible for actions that go against human society and cultural values," the Speaker said.
According to Asianet News, a police complaint has also been filed against Shashikala over her remarks blaming the victims.
Meanwhile, a Keralam court on Wednesday granted police custody of four accused in the case until 5 pm on Thursday.
The four accused, including Suhail, the 19-year-old driver, were produced before the court after being remanded to judicial custody and sent to a Borstal school, a correctional facility for young offenders, police said.
The accused face charges under Sections 281 (rash driving), 49 (abetment) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS and Section 185 (driving by a drunken person) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
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