The attempt by SNDP leader Vellapally Natesan to give religious colours to the tragic deaths of three men in an underground drain has further saddened the mother of Naushad, who died trying to save the other two men.

Last Thursday an auto driver named Naushad died while trying to rescue two labourers from an underground gutter. The two men, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, had been hired by the Kochi Corporation to clean it. However, Naushad too fell unconscious as he attempted to rescue the two labourers.

After his death, head of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) Vellapally Natesan said that the state government had announced compensation to him because he was a Muslim.

On Monday, however, reacting to these developments Naushad’s mother Aasma Beevi told the media that she was deeply saddened. Watch the Asianet report:

“I am hurt. He jumped without giving a thought for his own life, (but) still they said (that he was a Muslim). I am hurt. They named him (as a Muslim) and said that. What sin did he committed?”

Other political leaders such as Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly criticised Natesan.

By Monday evening, an FIR had been registered against Natesan.