Kannur suicide: Woman's family claims no case of moral policing, police say couple was intimidated

The Print

6 hours ago

'This (relationship) started three years ago. She has had a lot of debts since the friendship began. She was also ignoring us lately. We didn't know about the relationship until recently. The men who have been arrested don't usually cause any problems. They are our own people, my sister's sons. They intervened and questioned them since they saw the two of them together,' Raseena's mother told the media on Friday.
According to the police, the woman died by suicide on Tuesday, a day after the activists harassed her. While the police have arrested three men based on the suicide note found on the body, the woman's family on Friday said the accused, who include her relatives, were not moral policing the victim. The arrested men, identified as K.A. Faisal (34), V.K. Rafnas (24), and C. Mubasheer (28), have links with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
Thiruvananthapuram: Days after a 40-year-old woman died by suicide at Kayalod in Kerala's Kannur district due to alleged harassment by Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists for talking to a male friend, conflicting narratives have emerged from the police and the woman's family.
The mother claimed that the group spoke to the couple and then took the man, Rahees, to a nearby SDPI office, where the families of both were called in. 'They just asked him to settle the money,' she said.
However, Kannur City Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P. refuted the family's claims and said the arrests were based on evidence found at the scene, including the suicide note.
The police officer said that on the evening of the incident, which happened in the jurisdiction of the Pinarayi police station, Raseena was talking to her friend Rahees when three men approached them on motorcycles. 'They spoke in a derogatory manner, threatened them, and took away their mobile phones,' he said.
The suicide note, he added, pointed to the psychological trauma she experienced during this confrontation. 'The note mentioned that several people threatened and portrayed them in a negative light, they also snatched her friend's phone. It indicated that she chose to end her life because she felt they would not be allowed to live,' Nidhinraj P. said.
Based on the note and digital evidence recovered from the accused, the police took Faisal, Rafnas, and Mubasheer into custody. The commissioner noted that while the suicide note does not blame Rahees, he will be questioned to clarify the circumstances.
'Further investigation is needed to determine how many people gathered (at the SDPI office) and who among them humiliated the woman,' Nidhinraj P. said, adding that the financial allegation, made by the family, will be investigated.
He added that Rahees has been missing since the incident, though he is not an accused in the case at this stage.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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