IDUKKI: A recent incident involving Israeli tourists being reportedly ill-treated at a shop in Kumily run by Kashmiris seems to have taken a political and religious turn.
A Christian outfit has been circulating notices expressing anguish over the incident in Kumily town.
According to sources, notices issued by the Christian Association & Alliance For Social Action (CASA) demanding police action against the shop owners who “humiliated” the Israeli nationals were also found pasted in various parts of the town on Thursday evening.
One notice read, ‘The police themselves should file a case against the culprits who have humiliated India’s friends and Israel’s children in Kumily.’ Another said, ‘The government should take immediate action to save the tourism sector in Kerala from the grip of fundamentalists.’
Meanwhile, on Friday, the BJP took out a protest march over the issue in Kumily in which CASA members also took part.
It is learnt that CASA representatives had handed over a petition to George Kurian, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Minority Affairs, who was in Kumily on Friday in connection with the inauguration of a tribal development scheme of the central government.
However Muslim religious organisations such as the Jamaat-e-Islami and the SDPI, which recently opened new units in Kumily, are yet to respond on the issue.
Kumily has nearly 38 shops staffed by Kashmiris. Some of these are run directly by Kashmiris and others by Malayalis.
The handicraft shops run by Kashmiris attract good business, and this has built up resentment among some local traders, sources said.
The special branch has launched a detailed investigation into the incident.
