Kerala temple mourns death of their Muslim friend; stops conducting pujas for two days

The Shiva temple at Puthennada near Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala is mourning the death of a 23-year-old Muslim man and has stopped doing pujas for two days this week.

MV Shabbeer, a member of executive committee that organises the annual festival at the temple, was reportedly beaten to death on Sunday by four men over a dispute. The video of Shabeer being beaten up went viral a few days ago.

The temple which holds five pujas a day did not offer any on Monday and Tuesday. However, the temple has been kept open for devotees. 

According to a report in The Indian Express, the temple has also decided to not hold the 10-day festival that was to commence on February 9. 

According to the report, in 2015 four youths were arrested for provoking an elephant by pricking its tail with a needle. The elephant ran amok during the procession at the festival. Shabeer had appeared as the witness in this incident and deposed against the four men. This grudge led to a few fights between the two sides and eventually in one of those fights, Shabeer lost his life.

The members of the executive committee of the temple festival said that they never considered Shabeer as a 'Muslim inside the temple'. The friendship was beyond religion, executive committee member N Unni told The Indian Express.