2009 Beemapally police shooting
| 2009 Beemapally Police Shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Beemapally, Kerala, India |
| Date | 17 May 2009 |
| Deaths | 6 |
| Injured | 42 |
The 2009 Beemapally police shooting was a police shooting that happened at Beemapally, a coastal area in southern Kerala, India on 17 May 2009.[1] Six people died and 42 others were injured. Four policemen were suspended and the city police commissioner was transferred in the aftermath.[2] The Home Department and Police under the then Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in leftist government led by V. S. Achuthanandan were responsible for the shootout.[citation needed] The previous day of shooting, ie. 16 May 2009, was the counting day of Indian general election and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) could obtain only 4 seats out of 20 in Kerala.
Investigation
A judicial commission headed by district judge K. Ramakrishnan investigated the incident.[3] The Commission submitted a report to then chief minister Oommen Chandi in January 2012. Following the report, the state government requested the CBI to investigate the explosives found at the location.[4] The CBI submitted a closure report on 2013, stating they could not establish how the explosives arrived at the location and which people were behind it.[5]
The judicial commission report rejected allegations that the police firing is unjustifiable and concluded that it was the police action which prevented a large scale communal riot. The Beemapally Muslim Jama-Ath Action committee rejected the judicial commission report by saying "The Ramakrishnan Commission report has not offered any justice to the victims. In fact, it has portrayed people from the Muslim community in bad light" and demanded strong action against the policemen involved.[6]
In popular culture
The plot of the 2021 film Malik is supposedly based on this event. Director Mahesh Narayanan replied that the movie was "taken from surroundings but it's still a fictional place with fictional characters.".[7] In film, a Muslim aligned party was shown to be the brain behind the incidents, while in reality, so called parties have no roots in the area where incidents happened.[citation needed] Many[who?] criticised it as a rewriting of very recent history in favour of left wing politics using the convenience of cinematic liberty, as all the events happened during the rule of a leftist government.[8][9][10]
References
- ^ "Kerala clash: four killed in police firing". 18 May 2009.
- ^ "Cheriyathura: police chief shifted, four cops suspended". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Cheriyathura firing: Panel submits rerport to CM". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "CBI probe into source of explosive begins". News 18.
- ^ "Cheriyathura: CBI files closure report". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "Cheriyathura firing: Action Council rejects panel report". The New Indian Express.
- ^ "'Malik' was the toughest film for me to write: Director Mahesh Narayanan to TNM". The News Minute. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ "മാലിക്: പറഞ്ഞതും പറയാത്തതും: OUT OF FOCUS: Malik Malayalam Movie Review". YouTube Channel of MediaOne. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ "'മാലിക്ക്' മറ്റൊരു 'മെക്സിക്കൻ അപാരത'യെന്ന് ഒമർ ലുലു, മനസിലാകാത്തവർക്കായി ഒരു പത്രക്കട്ടിങ്ങും". Samakalika Malayalam. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ "'ചങ്ക്സ് പോലുള്ള ചിത്രം ചെയ്ത ആള്ക്ക് മാലിക്കിനെ വിമർശിക്കാൻ എന്ത് യോഗ്യത'; മറുപടിയുമായി ഒമർ". Malayala Manorama Online. Retrieved 17 July 2021.