Suspect found guilty in murder of Kerala Islamic cleric

Thiruvananthapuram: In one of the most high-profile murder cases in Kerala — involving the disappearance and death of a respected Islamic cleric — a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has found one of the nine accused guilty.

The case pertains to the disappearance of Chekannur P.K. Mohammad Abdul Hassan Moulavi, who was known to his followers as Chekannur Moulavi.

Moulavi was last seen by family members in July 1993 when he left his home at Edappal in Malappuram district along with a group of unidentified persons to deliver a speech. Doubts later emerged about the group's motives and whether it could have lured the cleric into a death trap.

Moulavi, who held liberal views about religion, was believed to have been murdered by conservatives and his body was never found despite 17 years of investigations into the case.

According to the prosecution, a gang drove away with the cleric before murdering him and disposing the body. The case came to light when Moulavi's wife, Havva Umma, and his uncle Salim Haji filed a complaint regarding his disappearance.

The CBI court on Wednesday found the first accused in the case, P.V. Hamza, guilty of the cleric's murder. The sentence is to be announced on Thursday.

The CBI took up the case in 1997.

Reacting to the verdict on Wednesday, Havva Umma bemoaned her personal loss, irrespective of the verdict, while Moulavi's uncle Salim Haji said he was disappointed that the "prosecution was not able to bring into play all the evidences that had been gathered in the case".