Disappearance of Chekannur Moulavi

Chekannur P. K. Mohammed Abdul Hassan Moulavi know as Chekannur Moulavi was a Malappuram based Islamic reformist scholar. He preached for a more moderate form of Islam and encouraged free thought. He was facing death threats from the Muslim fundamentalists in the state before he permanently disappeared on 29th July 1993. He was taken from his home in Malappuram by two people who claimed were inviting him to a religious talk after which he was never heard of from again. Although a body was not found, he is now presumed dead.

What followed

Following a complaint by his wife and uncle Salim Haji, an investigation  was launched. Police announced a reward in return for credible leads on the case. The CBI took over the case in 1996, and in 2000, arrested two members of an ultra-orthodox Sunni Muslim sect, which is linked to Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, under suspicion of murder. By 2005, 10 people were accused of the murder.
The case was hampered by the disappearance of a number of witnesses, whose properties were seized, after they fled abroad rather than testify in 2008. Moulavi’s wife had then filed a petition seeking to arraign Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musaliyar as a murder suspect through her lawyer, advocate SK Premraj, which was allowed. In 2010, prime accused VV Hamsa was sentenced to serve jail time for murder by CBI court while all others were acquitted. He too was finally let off by Kerala High court because the body never being found meant that it couldn't even be established that a murder had even taken place.

Today

The name Chekannur Moulavi has become a reminder of the fundamentalist, intolerant and regressive attitudes amongst some Muslims in Kerala. His disappearance shattered hopes for reformation of Islam in Kerala.