Local BJP leader admits role in Rs 8 cr robbery of KMCC in Qatar
In September this year, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Parappil Balakrishnan, a welder from Kozhikode, surrendered before the police to admit his involvement in an alleged case of theft committed in the office of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Qatar. His surrender comes nearly a year after the alleged crime, involving five others from Keralam, who are accused of stealing 31 lakh Qatari riyals, which comes to Rs 8.06 crore in Indian rupees. Balakrishnan had posted a video before going to the police, claiming that he was tricked into joining the others with the offer of a welder’s job. He named ‘Bombay Shaji’ as the man who offered the job, and two others, called Rashi and Salih Bavah, who joined him on the flight to Qatar. They had stayed in a three-star hotel there, he said. On September 18, 2025, they went in a car to the office of the KMCC. Balakrishnan said that he didn’t know that was where they were headed, and when he resisted, he was threatened and ordered to use his welding skills to break the locker containing the money. He named a man called ‘Thamar’ as giving orders on the phone. At the Koyilandi Police Station in Kozhikode, where the case was registered last month, Bombay Shaji, Rashi and Salih Bhava were named as the first three accused who allegedly committed the crime with the help of the other three accused - Balakrishnan, Hassan Mammali and Nizar. They are charged under Sections 309(4) (robbery) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In the last few days, a few audio clips have been circulating in the media, purportedly in the voice of Bombay Shaji, conversing with others involved in the crime. These conversations take the tone of blackmail, suggesting that the crime might have been a 'quotation' or conducted under the instructions of someone who wanted the KMCC office burgled. The KMCC is a welfare organisation for the expatriates from Keralam, affiliated to the Indian Union Muslim League. There was also criticism about the delay in registering the crime. The FIR was filed after Abdul Rahim PK, vice president of the KMCC in Qatar, made the complaint in September 2026. However, PMA Salam, general secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Keralam, said that if any KMCC members were found to be involved in the crime, strong action would be taken against them. Parappil Balakrishnan was a member of the BJP, and the IUML could not do anything about that, he said.
IN September this year, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Parappil Balakrishnan, a welder from Kozhikode, surrendered to the police to admit his involvement in an alleged case of theft committed in the office of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Qatar.
His surrender comes nearly a year after the alleged crime, involving five others from Keralam, who are accused of stealing 31 lakh Qatari riyals, which comes to Rs 8.06 crore in Indian rupees.
Balakrishnan had posted a video before going to the police, claiming that he was tricked into joining the others with the offer of a welder’s job. He named ‘Bombay Shaji’ as the man who offered the job, and two others, called Rashi and Salih Bavah, who joined him on the flight to Qatar. They had stayed in a three-star hotel there, he said.
On September 18, 2025, they went in a car to the office of the KMCC. Balakrishnan said that he didn’t know that was where they were headed, and when he resisted, he was threatened and ordered to use his welding skills to break the locker containing the money. He named a man called ‘Thamar’ as giving orders on the phone.
At the Koyilandi Police Station in Kozhikode, where the case was registered last month, Bombay Shaji, Rashi and Salih Bhava were named as the first three accused who allegedly committed the crime with the help of the other three accused - Balakrishnan, Hassan Mammali and Nizar. They are charged under Sections 309(4) (robbery) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In the last few days, a few audio clips have been circulating in the media, purportedly in the voice of Bombay Shaji, conversing with others involved in the crime. These conversations take the tone of blackmail, suggesting that the crime might have been a 'quotation' or conducted under the instructions of someone who wanted the KMCC office burgled. The KMCC is a welfare organisation for the expatriates from Keralam, affiliated to the Indian Union Muslim League.
There was also criticism about the delay in registering the crime. The FIR was filed after Abdul Rahim PK, vice president of the KMCC in Qatar, made the complaint in September 2026. However, PMA Salam, general secretary of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Keralam, said that if any KMCC members were found to be involved in the crime, strong action would be taken against them. Parappil Balakrishnan was a member of the BJP, and the IUML could not do anything about that, he said.
