Kerala man demolishes neighbour’s shop with a bulldozer for blocking marriage proposal

One of the most chilling scenes from Ayyappanum Koshiyum features a livid Ayyappan Nair, played by Biju Menon, driving a bull dozer into a building and razing it the ground in minutes. Barring blood shot eyes, Ayyappan Nair’s face is expressionless and offers no hint of the pure rage that is brewing inside him. This ‘mass scene’ was among the best from the 2020 action thriller that went on to become the highest grossing Malayalam film of the year. 

However, a young man from Kannur on Wednesday, tried to pull off a similar stunt, only to be booked by the cops within hours and sent to judicial custody. Residents of Cherupuzha in Kannur witnessed 26-year-old Albin Mathew knock down his neighbour’s grocery store on Wednesday with a JCB bulldozer. The incident has been attracting comparisons with the film (not necessarily positive ones) after a video of the demolition began circulating on the internet. 

According to Albin, his neighbour Soji had been blocking all marriage proposals coming to the young man, and hence he decided to knock down his shop. Albin took his own bulldozer and headed to Soji’s store, demolishing it sometime post 9 am, when Soji had shuttered the shop and gone home for breakfast. On witnessing the crumbling building, several people arrived at the scene. Albin is accused of threatening these people when they tried to confront him about the incident. The furniture and goods inside the shop were completely destroyed.

However, in his video Albin justifies his action by saying that Soji’s shop was being used for illegal activities, and that people were gathering to drink, play cards everyday in the shop. He even went on to claim that the minors were being harassed in the shop and that POCSO cases have been registered. 

Following the incident, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Cherupuzha station based on Soji’s complaint and Albin has been booked under sections 448 (punishment for house trespass), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs 50) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code. Police officers say that there is no evidence suggesting that Soji had intervened in Albin’s marriage proposals.

Albin was produced before the district magistrate on the same day and was remanded to judicial custody. Two others who accompanied Albin to demolish the shop have also been booked by the Cherupuzha police and remanded to judicial custody.

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