MALAPPURAM: Panakkad Syed Mueen Ali Shihab Thangal, son of former IUML state president Panakkad Syed Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal, on Sunday lodged a police complaint alleging that he received a threat from Rafi Puthiyakadavu, a former IUML worker.
In a voice message sent to Mueen Ali, Rafi allegedly warned that he will have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair if he continue to challenge the party. The incident sparked a heated debate in IUML circles.
After filing the complaint, Mueen Ali, the national vice-president of the Muslim Youth League, told reporters he was following the standard procedure when faced with a threat.
Call for strict action against Rafi for disrespecting Thangal family
Asked whether he suspects that someone was influencing Rafi to issue the threat, Mueen Ali said: “I have handed over all evidence to the police. They should investigate who is behind Rafi.” It is assumed that Mueen Ali’s recent criticisms against senior IUML leaders P K Kunhalikutty and Abdussamad Samadani at a function called ‘Panakkadinte Paithrukam’, organised by the Muslim Students Federation at Panakkad, might have prompted Rafi to send the threat message.
Responding to Kunhalikutty’s statement that one should attempt to cut the branches of the Panakkad family, Mueen said that no one is trying to do it.
This is not the first time Rafi has landed in trouble for showing disrespect to Mueen Ali. In 2021, Rafi barged into the IUML state committee office in Kozhikode where Mueen Ali was holding a press conference and showered abuses on him. Mueen Ali was telling mediapersons how Kunhalikutty was allegedly responsible for dragging his father Hyder Ali Thangal into the case related to ‘Chandrika’ daily. Rafi is known to be very close to Kunhalikutty. Subsequently, Rafi was expelled from the party.
Meanwhile, Rafi claimed that he did not intend the content of the voice message to be taken seriously. “I have maintained a good relationship with Thangal (Mueen Ali). I didn’t mean to hurt him but tried to remind him that controversies will negatively affect the party,” Rafi said. However, Rafi’s explanation has not gone down well with party workers, with many calling for strict action against him for disrespecting a member of the Thangal family and the son of Hyder Ali Thangal, whom they consider the most generous and soft-spoken person, often referring to him as ‘Attapoovu.’
Members of Samastha Kerala Sunni Students Federation, a student organisation affiliated with the Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul Ulama, took out a protest march on Sunday demanding strong action against Rafi.
Meanwhile, IUML state general secretary PMA Salam said the party had dismissed Rafi two years ago. He told reporters that Rafi has no connection with the party now. He asked the police to expedite the investigation into the case and asserted that IUML is with Mueen Ali Thangal on the issue.
