As campaign flags of the Left parties and the Congress-led UDF flutter side by side on the streets of Alappuzha, beneath the familiar din of electioneering, this coastal district holds on to a memory that no ballot can erase — and no government in Kerala has had the courage to answer for.
Four years on, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government remains unapologetic—offering no tangible action or accountability—over an incident that shook the conscience of Kerala. At a PFI rally in Alappuzha, an 11-year-old child hoisted on a man’s shoulders issued open threats to Hindus and Christians while the crowd roared in approval. Today, the CPM-led LDF has again joined hands with the SDPI. Though the PFI was banned shortly after this “Child Monger’s” death cry, the radicals behind it have simply shifted to the SDPI banner, awaiting an inevitable crackdown. What happened to the case where the Centre’s intervention forced them to register the case? Who all are the accused? It is learnt that the father himself radicalised this boy by injecting the poison into him of hatred towards other religions other than Muslims.
What the 11-year-old said
“Keep rice ready, Yama will come soon. Keep camphor ready too. Your destroyers are coming. If you live respectfully, you can live here. If not — we know what to do.”
It was May 22, 2022 — Months after the LDF swept back to power for a second consecutive term. At a Popular Front of India rally in Alappuzha, a 10-year-old boy was hoisted onto a man’s shoulders before a crowd of hundreds and made to deliver open death threats against Hindus and Christians. The slogans directed at non-Muslims were not spontaneous — they were scripted, rehearsed and handed to the child by his own father.
What makes this incident more than a disturbing video is what surrounded it. Intelligence agencies had explicitly warned against permitting the rally — months after BJP advocate Ranjith Sreenivasan had been brutally murdered in the same district. Administrative approval came anyway. Hundreds of police personnel were present at the venue. Not one intervened. The Left government’s well-documented soft approach toward Islamist radical outfits had, critics argue, made the police into spectators.
What Happened to the Case?
Police action began only after the High Court directed that stringent steps be taken. A case was registered based on a complaint filed by a lawyer in Alappuzha, with additional charges invoked under the Juvenile Justice Act against the accused. The incident—where inflammatory threats were raised in the presence of hundreds of police personnel—drew sharp criticism, with allegations that the state machinery had reduced itself to a passive spectator due to the government’s perceived soft approach toward extremist elements.
Despite widely circulated footage showing a child raising provocative slogans from atop an adult’s shoulders, the police were initially reluctant to act. Critics pointed out that, within months of the killing of BJP leader Ranjeet Srinivasan, permission for such a rally in Alappuzha city was granted at the administrative level, allegedly in defiance of intelligence warnings.
The slogans were scripted by the child’s own father. Police moved only after the High Court intervened. A chargesheet was filed — but the case has gone nowhere since.
PFI’s Alappuzha district president, Nawaz Vandanam, was named the first accused in the case. District secretary Mujeeb is listed as the second accused, while Erattupetta-based Ansar Najeeb—identified as one of the individuals who carried the child on his shoulders—is the third accused.
Investigators further alleged that the child was coached to raise provocative slogans. According to the case records, SDPI constituency secretary Palluruthi Njarakattil Sudhir and Popular Front’s Palluruthi division president Shameer were accused of instructing them. Shameer has been listed as the 25th accused, while Sudhir is the 26th. In total, the case names 35 accused.
All 35 accused walk free on bail today. PFI was banned. The Pinarayi Vijayan government was not held accountable. And as 2026 arrives, CPM has chosen to go to the polls alongside the very political forces that made that day possible.
The chain of patronage
- Intel warning ignored – Agencies flagged the rally as a threat. Administrative approval was granted regardless.
- Police stood and watched – Hundreds of officers present at the venue. The child chanted. The crowd roared. No action taken.
- High Court forced police to act- Only after a local advocate’s complaint and a High Court order did police file a case — against 35 accused.
- All 35 accused walk free – Chargesheet filed at Alappuzha Judicial First-Class Magistrate Court. Case stalled. Every accused out on bail.
- CPM now allies with SDPI in 2026 – As Kerala votes, CPM marches to polls hand in hand with SDPI — the political arm of the same banned PFI.
Pinarayi Vijayan – SDPI Nexus
PFI was eventually banned across India. But in Kerala, the Pinarayi Vijayan government has never once stood before the people of Alappuzha and answered the question that lingers over every election hoarding, every campaign rally, every vote cast in this district: how did a child come to stand on a man’s shoulders and publicly threaten the killing of Hindus and Christians — and why did the state do nothing until a court forced its hand?
In several constituencies, including Vengara and Mankada in Malappuram district, the Congress-led UDF has pointed to instances of candidate withdrawals and voting patterns as indicative of a quiet vote-transfer arrangement. while the CPM-led LDF remains strategically ambiguous when it comes to accepting electoral support, especially in closely contested seats. This perception has been reinforced by past local-level developments, such as allegations of cooperation in municipal bodies like Alappuzha, where opposition leaders claimed that CPM benefited from SDPI backing in securing key positions. Experts say there is a “grey area” where parties may oppose each other in ideology but still act practically during elections for votes.
SDPI President C. P. Abdul Lathief has stated that LDF candidate and Education Minister V. Sivankutty reached out to the party seeking support in Nemom.
