Malappuram donates to save Hindu man from gallows in Kuwait

People of the district collected Rs 25 lakh in five days to be given to the victim’s family, also hailing from Malappuram.

Even as the debate over alleged indoctrination and conversion centres rages on, the Muslim-dominated Malappuram in Kerala has set another example of communal harmony, saving the life of a Hindu man sentenced to death in Kuwait for killing his co-worker.

The Hindu man was sentenced to death in Kuwait for killing his co-worker. (Representative image)

People of the district came together to pay Rs 25 lakh ‘blood money’ to be given to the family of Abdul Wajid, a worker from Malappuram who died at the hands of Arjunan Athimuthu (45), a native of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, following a quarrel in September 2013. A court in Kuwait sentenced Arjunan to death. His wife, Malathi, approached Wajid’s family, comprising his wife and two kids without any source of income after Wajid’s death, relented after several requests if the family was paid Rs 30 lakh.

“I tried but could collect only Rs 5 lakh. People advised me to go to Panakkad family (of Indian Union Muslim League supremo). I met (Sayyid) Munavvar Ali Shihab (youngest son of former IUML president Panakkad Shihab Thangal),” said Malathi. Thangal made a fervent plea to people and many chipped in.