A video that has been in public domain since 2016 allegedly shows Muslim men attacking Hindu houses through stone pelting. ‘In Mallapuram district of Kerala, Muslim youths throw stones on Hindu houses shouting Allahu Akbar,’ reads the text accompanying the video.
The text with the video further goes on to assert that Kerala has become a haven for Muslim extremists and that Mallapuram and Kannur are witnessing ‘ethnic cleansing’. Hindus are supposedly in danger in Kerala.
A fact check conducted by Alt News revealed that the video indeed is from Kerala, but it was not an attack on Hindus by Muslim but the manifestation of a political rivalry.
The video surfaced on 15 August, 2016 and the attackers were activists from Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) who had attacked the CPI(M) office in Nadapuram, Kerala.
This video has been available on YouTube since 2016. It has also been widely circulated on social media, and keeps appearing in the public domain from time to time.
Among those who shared the video is Hardik Bhatt, who is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter.
The assault was reportedly in retaliation for the murder of an IUML worker allegedly by CPI(M) workers on 13 August, 2016, two days before this attack.
Aslam was an accused in the murder case of Shibin, a CPI(M) worker. He was acquitted by a lower court.
According to the local news channel Manorama News, more than 50 houses were attacked.
The video report, posted above, says “Widespread attack against houses in Nadapuram, even as attempts are being made to bring peace to the region. 51 houses have been attacked. The attacks have happened mostly against houses of supporters of Congress, BJP and CPI(M). 2 dozen cases have been registered. The attackers had their faces covered to prevent identification by the police. Auto-rickshaws, bikes and cars have been damaged. Cases have been registered against 50 persons. All political parties are active in attempts to bring peace. The police have deployed large number of personnel”.
The attack on the houses had taken place when Aslam’s body was being taken to the cemetry. Nadapuram has been the setting for the turf war that has been going on between the IUML and CPI(M) since the 1990s.
Five casualties were reported in the political violence that ensued. Two weeks after this incident, the key accused in his murder was arrested. One month later, six IUML workers were arrested for attacking the houses.
(The story first appeared on Alt News and has been republished with permission. The story has been edited for length.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)