Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar.
The controversy over a television debate on Sunni Muslim scholar Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar’s remarks about women appearing in public has taken a new turn with the police registering two separate cases against the anchor and a panellist of the show.The Kochi City cyber police on Monday booked Aparna Kurup, journalist in a Malayalam TV channel, for making alleged provocative statements during the debate which was later taken down by the channel after it stirred a row. The case against Ms. Kurup was registered based on a complaint from Kasaragod native Abdul Hakeem B.M.Ms. Kurup was booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 192 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot) and Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings).‘Islamophobic content’The case comes two days after the cyber police booked Kozhikode resident Abdulla Basil C.P., the vice president of Wisdom Students, the student wing of the Wisdom Islamic Organisation in Keralam, and an unidentified person based on a complaint from Ms. Kurup. The case was registered for allegedly defaming and triggering security threats to Ms. Kurup through social media over the TV debate which Mr. Basil attended as a panellist. Mr. Basil had posted a video after the debate, calling out the alleged Islamophobic content in the introductory remarks by Ms. Kurup. Earlier, Ms. Kurup and her channel had expressed regret over the alleged remarks.Meanwhile, the State government is understood to have instructed the police not to act hastily in the case against Mr. Basil following criticism from different sides against the police action.Root of controversyThe controversy stemmed from a recent speech by Mr. Aboobacker advising against Muslim women sharing public spaces with unrelated men during religious celebrations. While Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby had questioned it, the IUML, a key ally of the UDF, sought to play it down with its State president Panakkad Sadikali Shihab Thangal calling it just a scholarly expression.AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal had declined to comment on the issue, stating that the Congress would make its stance clear at an appropriate time. Several women leaders including CPI (M) leader P.K. Sreemathy and Labour Minister Bindu Krishna had criticised the statement. Published - September 07, 2026 09:04 pm IST
