THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Noted poet and lyricist Murugan Kattakada received a death threat over the phone from an anonymous person in connection with one of his songs praising Marxism.
The call was received around 10 pm on Wednesday. The caller did not identify himself and threatened Murugan that a gang had been deployed to kill him.
Murugan on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP and Cybercrime police station. His song "Manushyan Aavanam" (Should be human) was the source of provocation. He composed the song for the biographical film "Choppu" based on the life of EK Aymu - the writer-dramatist of "Ijj Nalla Manushyan Aakaan Nokku". The song recently went viral on social media.
According to Murugan, the caller hurled verbal abuses and threatened him. "The caller had the tone of a communal extremist. He threatened me that a group was ready to kill me at my home as my creative work had hurt "him or them". I suspect a large group behind this threat call. However, I have filed a complaint," he said.
The DYFI state committee strongly registered a protest over the death threat to Murugan. In a statement, DIFI said that no fascist or radical elements can silence artists and cultural figures. "The attack and threat on artists and cultural icons will not be entertained in Kerala. So a strong voice should come up against this threat call," DYFI said in the statement.