IUML Workers' Brutal 2012 Attack: CPI(M) Activist Veliyeri Mohanan Laid to Rest After 13 Years

Kannur: Veliyeri Mohanan (60), a cadre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) who was attacked and abandoned in the forest by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) activists 13 years ago due to political rivalry, and was presumed dead, has been laid to rest. The funeral was held at 10 a.m. at the public crematorium in Perool Kizhakkekkara, Mathamangalam.

The attack on Mohanan took place on the morning of February 21, 2012. A group of 15 people, including local leaders and active Muslim League members Muhammad Salih and M. Rauf, broke into the house, damaged household items, smashed windows and doors, and dragged Mohanan—who was sleeping with his younger son Nithin—out of bed and attacked him.

His elder son Mithun, who was studying in another room, was injured when Salih hit him. Mohanan’s wife Radha and mother Kalyani were also beaten when they tried to intervene. When Radha tried to stop them from attacking Mohanan, Salih kicked her to the ground. As Mohanan tried to escape, the attackers chased after him and repeatedly hacked him. After he collapsed, they carried him away and abandoned him in a distant forested area. When Radha tried to follow, she was scared off by the attackers.

Some locals and party workers, who came to know of the incident, eventually found Mohanan lying in a pool of blood. He had suffered deep wounds to his head, chest, and abdomen, and had lost both his memory and ability to speak. After years of treatment, he had been living at his wife’s house in Mathamangalam. He was the son of the late Kunjiraman and Veliyeri Kalyani of Ariyil.