M M Akbar remanded in police custody

Kochi: A court here Monday remanded to police custody Peace International school Director M M Akbar, arrested in connection with a case of allegedly spreading animosity among religious communities.

Akbar was detained by intelligence bureau officials when he arrived at Hyderabad airport Sunday for onward journey abroad and was handed over to Kerala police, sources said, adding, there was a lookout notice issued against him.

He was brought to Kochi last night and was today produced before the First Class Judicial Magistrate court which remanded him to police custody till March 3. The police requested custody for seven days for detailed interrogation about the school, but was granted only five days.

The case against him was that the school run by the organisation used textbooks with contents that went against the country’s secular fabric.

The state government had in January ordered the closure of the school at Kochi.

The order said enquiries revealed that the textbooks at the Peace International school were aimed at propagation of ideas contradicting the country’s secular policy besides trying to spread propaganda against its policies.

The school at Thammanam in Ernakulam came under the scanner in October 2016 after the district educational officer filed a complaint against it on the contents of the textbooks.

Akbar was made an accused in the controversial textbook case in 2016 and has been abroad since then, police said.

The head of the publishers of the disputed book, Navi Mumbai's Burouj Realization, its content editor and designer were earlier arrested on the charge, and later released on bail after a month. Akbar was also an accused in the case, but was not arrested as he was abroad.

(With input from PTI)