SFI leader losing out in ‘star war’

THRISSUR : SFI district secretary KI Shabir is all set to face disciplinary action for his alleged manhandling of the father of actress Gopika at a movie theatre here last month. The CPI(M) district committee has reportedly given the go-ahead for the disciplinary action.

As Shabir is also a member of the party fraction, the decision had to be taken by the district party leadership, sources say. The controversial incident took place at a theatre in the town last month, when the family of the SFI leader and the actress with relatives had come to watch a movie.

There was a minor altercation between Shabir and Gopika’s father Anto on some petty issue. Afterwards, Shabir contacted his party colleagues and roughed up Anto at the theatre. Anto was admitted to a hospital and a case was registered against Shabir and seven other SFI workers. This, according to party sources, amounts to deliberate manipulation of party influence.

However, the sources say that the impending action against Shabir, who was also the chairman of the Calicut University Union, is the fall-out of a bitter factional feud emerging in the party between two party bigwigs from Ollur and Kunnamkulam.

They say that Shabir had all along been supported by the leader from Kunnamkulam, but the intervention from a higher-up had taken things out of his control.

A senior State-level SFI leader said the Shabir issue was being discussed in the organisation. However, he declined to comment on what future course of action would be taken by the party.

Asked whether the district committee that met the other day had given the go-ahead for the disciplinary action, he said the committee had no role in the affairs of the SFI. Shabir is believed to be a leader with close contacts to the CPI(M) faction led by State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan.