Kasaragod District Panchayat member and IUML leader, ‘Golden’ Abdul Rahman (33), finds himself behind bars after being arrested for a violent confrontation with police officers on patrol duty in Uppala near Manjeshwar. Rahman, representing the Manjeshwar division in the District Panchayat and also serving as the district secretary of the Muslim Youth League, vehemently denies any wrongdoing, asserting that he’s a victim of a setup. He’s now detained at Kasaragod sub-jail.
According to Kasaragod DySP Sudhakaran P K, Rahman was part of a five-member gang responsible for assaulting Manjeshwar sub-inspector Anoob P and senior civil police officer Kishore at Hidayath Nagar in Uppala around 12:35 am on Sunday, September 3. The attack left SI Anoob with a fractured arm and facial injuries inflicted by a stone, as detailed in the police FIR against Rahman, who is the fifth accused.
The other suspects in the case include Rasheed, Afsal, Sathar, and Noor Ali, all hailing from Uppala, a commercial center often marked by underworld gang conflicts. Curiously, only Rahman has been apprehended thus far, while the search for the remaining suspects continues.
The confrontation unfolded when SI Anoob and his team were on patrol duty during the night of September 2nd and 3rd. They encountered the five individuals near a flour mill at Thachilampara junction in Hidayath Nagar. An exchange escalated into a physical altercation, with Rasheed and Afsal allegedly assaulting SI Anoob. Sathar, not named in the FIR, reportedly used a stone to injure the officer’s face. Noor Ali and Rahman purportedly restrained Kishore, pushing him to the ground.
After the attack, the assailants attempted to flee in their vehicle. Afsal, while attempting to close the car door to thwart SI Anoob, ended up fracturing the officer’s arm, as documented in the FIR.
DySP Sudhakaran pointed to Afsal’s involvement in an eatery operating on government land frequented by members of the sand mafia, particularly during late hours. Police had recently instructed Afsal to close his establishment by 11 pm. Notably, Noor Ali, one of the attackers who targeted the civil police officer, had a prior record related to the murder of gangster Kalia Rafeeq, for which he was on bail. Rafeeq’s murder had brought notoriety to Uppala in February 2017.
Sudhakaran raised questions about Rahman’s presence in such a situation at that hour, emphasizing that a public representative should have intervened to prevent the altercation rather than aiding in an assault on an officer. Rahman, however, contended that he was not part of the group but had encountered the confrontation while returning from a football game on a nearby field. He asserted that he attempted to defuse the situation and left when it escalated.
The police have charged all five suspects, including Rahman, with various offenses, including wrongful restraint, assaulting public servants, causing hurt, common intent, and obstructing police officers in the discharge of their duties. If convicted, they could face prison sentences of up to three years.
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