KANNUR: Police on Tuesday arrested three individuals all said to be SDPI activists in connection with an alleged incident of moral policing that reportedly led to the suicide of a 40-year-old woman in Parambai, Vengad grama panchayat.
Raseena K, a resident of the area, died by suicide on 17 June, two days after the incident, which is believed to have left her deeply traumatised. The arrested individuals Rafnas C K (24), Mubashir V P (28), and Faisal K A are all residents of Parambai. Rafnas is said to be related to the deceased.
Police stated that the arrests were made on the basis of a suicide note and subsequent investigation findings. All three accused have been remanded in judicial custody.
Pinarayi police registered a case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), while the trio were booked under Section 170 of BNSS. This provision allows police to arrest individuals without a warrant if there is reason to believe they are planning a cognisable offence and that preventive action is not possible by other means.
“We initiated the investigation based on clues from the suicide note,” a police officer said.
According to the police, the incident occurred near the road adjacent to Achankara Mosque on Sunday. The three accused allegedly confronted Raseena and her male friend, questioning their presence together in public. Raseena was reportedly told to return home.
The man accompanying her was allegedly assaulted. The accused are also said to have seized his mobile phone and tablet, before taking him to an SDPI party office. He was released only after his family arrived, though the devices were not returned. These were later recovered by the police during the arrests.
Meanwhile, the SDPI denied any organisational involvement in the incident. In a statement, the party's Vengad panchayat committee called the allegations "ill-motivated" and claimed that the situation involved a married woman found in the company of a man from Mayyil under suspicious circumstances. “She was taken home by her relatives, and both families later resolved the matter. The woman died by suicide two days later,” the statement said.
Raseena is survived by her husband, M K Rafeeq, who works in the Gulf, and their children Muhammad Rafi, Rasana, and Noor Mehrin.