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{{Short description|Massacre of Hindus in Marad, Kerala}}

{{EngvarB|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Infobox civil conflict|place=[[Marad Beach]], [[Kozhikode district]], [[Kerala]]|side1='''[[Hindus]]'''|casualties1=8 deaths|side2c=[[File:PFI - Popular Front of India Flag.jpg|25px]] [[Popular Front of India|PFI]]|side2b=[[File:Flag of the Popular Front of India.svg|25px]] [[National Development Front|NDP]]|side2a=[[File:Flag of the Indian Union Muslim League.svg|25px]] [[Indian Union Muslim League|IUML]] {{small|(alleged)}}|methods=[[Massacre]]|side2='''[[Muslims]]'''|goals=[[Revenge]] and [[religious persecution]]|title=Second Marad massacre|causes=religious conflict among Hindus and Muslims|date={{End date and age|2 May 2003}}|coordinates={{coord|11.20745|75.78706|display=inline}}|subtitle='''Marad Beach massacre'''|partof=[[persecution of Hindus]] and [[religious violence in India]]|casualties2=1 death}}{{Violence against Hindus in independent India}}

The '''second Marad massacre''' was the killing of eight [[Hindu]]s by Islamic fundamentalists on 2 May 2003 at the [[Marad Beach]] of the [[Kozhikode district]], [[Kerala]], India. One attacker, Mohammed Ashker, was hit by accident and was also killed. The judicial commission that probed the incident concluded that the [[Indian Union Muslim League]] were directly involved in both the conspiracy and execution of the [[massacre]]. These political party was directly involved in both the conspiracy and execution of Kerala’s worst ever communal carnage, says the report of the judicial commission probing the three-year-old Marad massacre The commission affirmed "a clear communal conspiracy, with Muslim [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] organisations involved".<ref name="IndianExpress-Sep-27-2006">[http://www.indianexpress.com/news/marad-report-slams-muslim-league/13497/ Marad report slams Muslim League] ''The Indian Express'', 27 September 2006</ref> The commission couldn't find evidence to support the involvement of foreign organisations.<ref name="IndianExpress-Sep-27-2006" /> The courts sentenced 62 Muslims to life imprisonment for committing the massacre in 2009 – most of whom belonged to the [[Indian Union Muslim League]],[[Peoples Democratic Party (India)|People's Democratic Party]], and [[National Development Front]].

The attackers also threw bombs with the intention of inflicting more deaths, but the bombs did not explode.<ref name="outlook220346">[http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-marad-massacre/220346 The Marad massacre] ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook (magazine)]]'', 6 June 2003</ref> A large cache of swords, knives and bombs were stored in the neighbouring Masjid ([[mosque]]) and were later seized by the police. This stock was found to be kept ready as a reserve for a mass massacre, which did not happen in the event of police intrusion.<ref name="thehindu31may03">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120819024224/http://www.hindu.com/2003/05/31/stories/2003053100621000.htm The Marad massacre] ''[[The Hindu]]'', Saturday, 31 May 2003</ref>
==January riots==
On 3 and 4 January 2002 at Marad, three [[Hindus]] and two [[Muslims]] were killed in a sudden breach of peace due to scuffles between two groups that began as a trivial altercation over drinking water at the public tap. Police present at the time stood watching the incident, failing to capture the criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/jul/pce-marad.htm |title=Marad can yet be retrieved |publisher=Indiatogether.org }}</ref> Out of 393 people arrested, 213 were from [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS) and [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), 86 from [[Indian Union Muslim League|Muslim League]], 78 from [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (CPI(M)) and [[Communist Party of India]] (CPI), and couple of them from [[Indian National League]] (INL), [[National Development Front]] (NDF) – now renamed "[[Popular Front of India]]" and rest of the parties.<ref name="FL" /> Government troops were later sent in to patrol the area.

* 27 December 2008: A Special Court on Saturday convicted 63 accused, in a case relating to the May 2003 communal attack at Marad beach near Kozhikode in Kerala, while acquitting 76 others for want of evidence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/27marad-riots-five-years-on-63-found-guilty.htm |title=Marad riots: Five years on, 63 found guilty |work=Rediff.com }}</ref>
* 15 January 2009: A sessions Court in Kozhikode pronounced life sentence on 62 of 63 convicts in 2001's Marad carnage case. One convict, who has already served five years in jail, was released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/marad-carnage-case-62-held-guilty-given-life-term/82805-3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117062158/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/marad-carnage-case-62-held-guilty-given-life-term/82805-3.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-01-17 |title=62 get a lifer |publisher=Ibnlive.in.com }}</ref>

==May riots==
On 2 May 2003, in the early evening, eight Hindus were hacked to death by a Muslim mob<ref name="frontline1">{{cite news|url=http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2320/stories/20061020003810600.htm |title=Marad shocks |publisher=[[Frontline (magazine)|The Hindu Frontline]]|date=7 October 2006}}</ref> on the beach after reeling in their catch for the day.<ref name="IE">{{cite web |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/3229.html |title=Kerala sits on riot report indicting Cong govt, Muslim League |work=The Indian Express |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929103103/http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/3229.html |archive-date=29 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Initial investigation report of the Crime Branch Inspector General of Police, Mahesh Kumar Singhla, had dropped enough hints that the NDF was behind the massacre of eight people at Marad on 2 May.<ref>NDF behind Marad massacre?[https://web.archive.org/web/20051221235501/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/07/09/stories/2003070903600300.htm].</ref> Mahesh Kumar Singhla was not able to give enough evidences in front of [[Thomas P Joseph]] commission on his arguments.<ref name="REP" />{{Verify source|date=April 2020}}

Later, the government troops unearthed a huge cache of weapons including 17 bombs.<ref name="WS" /> The police commissioner, TK Vinod Kumar stated: "It was an operation carried out by a well-knit organization. It was a quick and sudden attack which was over in 10 minutes. The attack came from a particular community.".<ref name="WS">[http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/04/stories/2003050402380600.htm Weapons seized] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314045036/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/04/stories/2003050402380600.htm |date=14 March 2007 }}</ref>

One of the attackers, Mohammed Ashker, was also killed during the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/sep/28gi.htm |title=Marad: How politicians fanned a communal riot |work=Rediff.com }}</ref>

==Aftermath and exodus of residents==
The Marad killings created an insecure state for the inhabitants of Marad and it still continues. Police, Judiciary and Legislature are indefinitely dragging the case and they are unable to bring the criminals of first and second Marad killings in front of police in spite of continuous requests<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/25/stories/2004042507860400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040622034248/http://www.hindu.com/2004/04/25/stories/2004042507860400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 June 2004 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=Marad case: Kummanam's Request |date=25 April 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ndfindia.com/content/view/481 |title=NDF welcomes the CBI inquiry |publisher=Ndfindia.com |date=27 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070928100442/http://www.ndfindia.com/content/view/481 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> from different sects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/03/stories/2006100315650400.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023011517/http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/03/stories/2006100315650400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 October 2006 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=CBI should also probe first Marad riot |date=3 October 2006}}</ref> The judiciary is dragging the case indefinitely by not convicting all the 134 arrested person, in spite of continuous requests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/21/stories/2006072103371100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001090502/http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/21/stories/2006072103371100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 October 2007 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=Anticipatory bail: Single Judge's directions set aside |date=21 July 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/01/11/stories/2004011101230500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040530141927/http://www.hindu.com/2004/01/11/stories/2004011101230500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 May 2004 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=All cases to go to new court in a week |date=11 January 2004}}</ref>

==Inquiry commission by Justice Thomas==
The Marad Massacre had caused a public uproar against the apathetic approach of the investigating agency and mushrooming of a new breed of religious fundamentalism in the Kerala State. There were persistent demands for a judicial enquiry in the matter, in pursuance whereto, the then UDF government had appointed Thomas P. Joseph (District & Sessions Judge) as the Commission of Inquiry. He had submitted his report during February 2006 and the LDF ministry tabled the report during September 2006. The report had elucidated that a person known as "F.M." (Finance Minister) had funded for the massacre and also cast aspersions on various political parties and the government officials including the [[District Collector]] T. O. Sooraj Mohamed. A person named Hilal Mohammed (F.M. who was handling the smuggling of counterfeit goods at Calicut Airport) too has filed a petition demanding a probe into his alleged involvement in the matter. Both these petitions were filed through Advocate S. K. Premraj. During hearing, Advocate Premraj submitted that Hilal Mohammed's life is under imminent threat.<ref name="Frontline">{{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/ |work=Frontline |publisher=Hinduonnet.com |title=The Hindu : Home Page News & Features |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> The role of Indian Union Muslim Leader P. P. Modieen Koya and Mayin Haji (then chairman Kozhikode Development Authority)was also highlighted in the report. The commission's also recommends a further inquiry, involving the [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI) about the involvement of foreign agencies in the riots.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-28/thiruvananthapuram/27830289_1_iuml-cbi-inquiry-ig-mahesh-kumar-singla |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018092942/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-28/thiruvananthapuram/27830289_1_iuml-cbi-inquiry-ig-mahesh-kumar-singla |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 October 2012 |work=[[The Times of India]] |title=Probe into Marad riots |date=28 September 2006}}</ref>

===Key findings of Justice Thomas Commission===
*"The patrolling and search for weapons said to be made by the local police were not effective or purposeful. To put shortly, the local police was lethargic in their attitude towards the situation at Marad Beach."<ref name="REP" /> (chapter 5, section 37)
*"It was unfortunate that the household items were damaged at Marad Beach in the presence of police"(chapter 5, section 42)<ref name="REP">{{cite web |url=http://mathrubhumi.com/2006_customimages/news/PF123172_marad01.pdf |title=Copy of Thomas P Joseph Commission |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928000441/http://mathrubhumi.com/2006_customimages/news/PF123172_marad01.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* The then Chief Minister [[A. K. Antony]] and the then industries minister and [[Indian Union Muslim League]] (IUML) leader [[P. K. Kunhalikutty]] opposed any CBI probe into the massacre.<ref name=IANS>[http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Kerala_tables_Marad_massacre_report-nid-33289-cid-TNI.html Kerala tables Marad massacre report] By [[Indo-Asian News Service|IANS]], Wednesday, 27 September 2006, 12:30 IST</ref>
* The report mentions about the role of the [[Indian Union Muslim League]] (IUML) and the [[National Development Front]] (NDF). IUML leaders like C. Mayin Haji and P. P. Moideen Koya were named to be aware of the conspiracy beforehand.<ref name=IANS/>

===Commission's main recommendation===
The commission's main recommendation, was a further inquiry, involving the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, into the "larger conspiracy" involving fundamentalist and other forces, and into the source of the explosives and funds that the CBCID "failed or refused" to investigate – an act that the commission described as "quite suspicious and disturbing".<ref name="FL">{{cite web|url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2320/stories/20061020003810600.htm|title=Marad Shocks: Frontline Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112093108/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2320/stories/20061020003810600.htm|archive-date=12 January 2009}}</ref>

===Responses on commission's report===
The Home minister of Kerala Government had written to the Union Government on 12 September 2006 recommending the CBI probe into the conspiracy behind the riots and issues such as the involvement of fundamentalist outfits, their foreign connections and source of funding and how they succeeded in secretly stockpiling weapons in the village for use in the riots.<ref>CBI probe into
Marad carnage – kerala.gov {{cite web|url=http://kerala.gov.in/intoct06/pg05.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-08-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181423/http://kerala.gov.in/intoct06/pg05.pdf |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>

[[A.K. Antony]], who was the Chief Minister during both incidents, differed on Commission findings with a main point that the first round of violence should have included in the report.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/30/stories/2006093010680100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106191958/http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/30/stories/2006093010680100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 November 2006 |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=Antony differs with Marad panel findings |date=30 September 2006}}</ref>

== Sentencing ==
Special court in Kozhikode on 15 January 2009 sentenced 62 of the 63 convicts to life in the May 2003 Marad carnage case.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kerala court awards life sentence to 62 accused in Marad case |url=https://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/kerala-court-awards-life-sentence-to-62-accused-in-marad-case_498887.html |work=Zee News |date=15 January 2009 |language=en}}</ref> There were a total of 139 accused in the case. In December 2008, additional sessions Judge Babu Mathew P Joseph convicted 62 people for murder while a person was found guilty of abetment. The rest were acquitted of all charges.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Renewed demands for CBI probe==
On 17 April 2012, [[Kerala High Court]] observed that there had been "deep conspiracy" behind the incident and that police had failed in investigating it effectively.<ref name="dap">{{cite web |title=Marad massacre: Call for CBI probe intensifies |url=http://dailypioneer.com/nation/87966-marad-massacre-call-for-cbi-probe-intensifies.html |access-date= 18 August 2012}}</ref>

The Opposition leader [[VS Achuthanandan]] accused Chief Minister [[Oommen Chandy]] of trying to sabotage the Marad massacre case. BJP and [[Hindu Aikya Vedi]] and CPI(M)'s State secretariat member [[Elamaram Kareem]] also called for a probe by the Central agency.<ref name="dap" />

Achuthanandan accused Chandy's [[Indian National Congress|Congress]]-led [[United Democratic Front (Kerala)|UDF]], which is in coalition with Indian Union Muslim League, of having intervened in the Marad massacre case.<ref name="dap" />

Kerala BJP president [[V. Muraleedharan|V Muraleedharan]] wanted initiation of a case against senior Muslim League leader MC Mayin Haji who had prior knowledge of massacre plan, according to the Judicial Commission.<ref name="dap" />

==New FIR==
In 2016, CBI filed a fresh FIR with Muslim League leaders included in the list of accused.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Reporter|first=Staff|date=2017-01-19|title=CBI registers fresh FIR in second Marad riot case|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/CBI-registers-fresh-FIR-in-second-Marad-riot-case/article17061807.ece|access-date=2021-08-01|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

== See also ==

*[[National Development Front]]
*[[Popular Front of India]]
*[[Communist Party of India]]

==References==
<references />

== External links ==

* {{Cite web|title=Marad massacre|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-marad-massacre/220346|url-status=live|website=[[Outlook India]]}}
{{Riots in India}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Massacres in 2003]]
[[Category:2003 crimes in India]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2003]]
[[Category:2003 murders in Asia]]
[[Category:Massacres in India]]
[[Category:Violence against Hindus in India]]
[[Category:Crime in Kerala]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in India]]
[[Category:Massacres perpetrated by Muslims]]
[[Category:History of Kerala (1947–present)]]
[[Category:Deaths by blade weapons]]
[[Category:Attacks in 2003]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2003]]
[[Category:May 2003 events in Asia]]
[[Category:2000s murders in India]]

Marad massacre - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 10:51, 14 August 2023