The actions taken by the Kerala Forest Department against Malayalam rapper Hirandas Murali, known as , is “pure rascality and nonsense,” said Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader made this statement in the wake of charges filed against the Dalit rapper for possession of a pendant made of suspected leopard tooth. Brittas also criticised the “excessive interest” that certain officials are showing in the case.
“I haven’t met the rapper Vedan. His music genre isn’t very familiar to me either. However, I can’t help but comment on the controversy created surrounding him. If he has committed any legal violations, let him be punished. But the way some officials are showing excessive interest and celebrating it is in no way desirable,” on social media.
The controversies began after the Excise and Police Departments found approximately six grams of cannabis at a flat in Kochi where the rapper was rehearsing and him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Later, the Forest Department also booked him for the alleged possession of a suspected leopard tooth pendant.
The legal action against Vedan has come under sharp critique. Many say that the rapper is being particularly targeted by the officials due to his Dalit identity and politics. His mother‘s Sri Lankan lineage also came under the scanner.
Addressing the allegation that the pendant on Vedan’s chain is an original leopard tooth, Brittas said, “The discovery of a leopard tooth on Vedan’s neck was propagated as a major event. It’s not an atom bomb, after all. How many old houses have handicrafts made from the body parts of wild animals?”
On the media coverage of the issue, Brittas said, “What disturbed me more than this was another piece of news: ‘Vedan’s mother is of Sri Lankan descent, and the Forest Department says that connection is there in the case.’ This is pure rascality and nonsense.”
He also observed that the actions taken by Forest Department officials were not in keeping with the CPI(M) government’s stance.
“Due to the menace of wild animals, farming has become impossible in many parts of Kerala. The Kerala government’s demand is to declare wild boars and monkeys as vermin. However, there are still some Forest Department officials eager to break open curry pots in kitchens. The time has come for them to understand that the Kerala society does not approve of such overzealousness.”
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Perumbavoor had granted bail to Vedan on April 30, citing that there is no allegation about his involvement in hunting the animal or extracting the tooth. The court also said that it is not even clear whether the alleged article is an original leopard tooth.