On November 2, Kochi Police arrested Thushara Kallayil, the woman who sells non-halal food, her husband Ajith Kallayil and two associates Appu and Sunil, from Kottayam district for allegedly levelling false allegations. The couple had alleged that two men, Nakul S Babu and Manoj, had attacked Thushara for running a non-halal food joint.
The case against Thushara has been filed under Section 152A (Promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.
Kerala | 4 people, including a couple,who were running a ‘no halal’ eatery held for levelling fake allegations. Case lodged under IPC 153(A):Kochi Police Commissionerate(2.11)
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2021
The couple had earlier alleged that they were assaulted for putting up a No Halal board at their eatery
Police said Thushara and others had attacked Nakul and Manoj.
According to the Police, the incident took place on the night of October 24, where Thusara, her husband, and two others allegedly removed a kiosk owned by Nakul S Babu at Chil Se Food Spot at Nilampathinjimukal near Infopark, Kakkanad, Kochi, Kerala. Police said the ‘no-Halal’ board was put up on the same day the brawl happened. During the investigation, they found that she and her associates took furniture from a nearby shop contrary to what her complaint said, where she had claimed that furniture was stolen from her shop.
The shop owner has also filed a theft case against her and others. The Police said that Thushara and her husband Ajith had planned the attack. The Police further added that she added communal colour to the incident to gain media attention claiming the incident happened because of the non-halal board.
Thushara’s version of the incident
In a Facebook live, Thushara claimed she was in the process of opening a new non-halal eatery. However, the ‘no-halal’ board irked locals, and she got attacked by some miscreants. The reports suggested she was getting threats for opening a second branch of her non-halal restaurant. Condemning the attack, K Surendran, the state president of BJP Kerala, Tweeted: “Strongly condemn the attack against Smt.Thushara Ajith. A group of Muslim fanatics brutally attacked the woman entrepreneur due to non-compliance with Halal in her hotel. What happened in Kakkanad is nothing less than Talibanism. I urge the people of Kerala to reject Halal Invasion”.
Notably, Thushara had opened its first non-halal restaurant in January 2021. Many Islamists had taken offence to her idea of running a non-halal restaurant. “Muslims keep saying that it is not correct. Whenever Hindus start any business, Muslims try to intervene”, opined Thushara, who has been running the restaurant for a year and a half now.
This is an ongoing story. Further investigation by the Police is underway.
