The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has expelled one of its members amid an ongoing probe into a major burglary at the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) office in Qatar in September 2025, in which cash worth approximately ₹8 crore was stolen.
IUML sources said Razak Kunnummel, alias Rotana Razak, of Thurayur grama panchayat in Kozhikode district had also been removed from the party’s affiliated organisations, including the KMCC. The expulsion was announced in the party mouthpiece Chandrika Daily on Saturday (October 24, 2026).
Razak was an IUML council member in Qatar and an active member of the KMCC there.
Cross-party row
The case has triggered a cross-party row after local BJP leader Parappil Balakrishnan, who recently surrendered before the Koyilandy police, reportedly confessed to travelling to Doha, Qatar, with others to break open the strongroom using a gas cutter as part of a planned operation. Balakrishnan reportedly told police that Razak played a role in the theft, prompting the party to take action against him.
According to the police, the burglary occurred on September 18, 2025, at the KMCC office in Al Thumama, Qatar. Four people who travelled from Keralam to Qatar allegedly carried out the theft. They allegedly broke into the building, tied up the room boy and used gas cutters to break open the strongroom and steal the cash.
Almost a year later, following a complaint filed by Qatar KMCC vice-president P.K. Abdul Rahim, the Koyilandy police registered a case on September 15, 2026, naming six people as accused.
Besides Balakrishnan, the other accused were identified as ‘Bombay’ Shaji, Rashi, Salih alias Bava, Hassan alias Mammali and Nisar. The delay in filing a complaint over the burglary had drawn criticism of the IUML and the KMCC. However, the IUML leadership maintained that Mr. Rahim had filed the complaint on its instructions.
Published - October 24, 2026 07:57 pm IST