From WhatsApp pranks to Police raids: Rise and fall of ‘Rajarajeshwari Underworld’

KOLLAM: Authorities have registered a case against a group of men who allegedly marketed themselves as the "Rajarajeshwari Adholokam" (Rajarajeshwari Underworld) after a video of their supposed headquarters at Kollam College Junction went viral. The accused—Naufal, Manikandan, Zakharia, Sherin, Nizamuddin, and Shanu—find themselves in legal trouble over footage that features six men dancing in public and two others posing with a gun inside a house.

The drama began in January when the group members shared the clips within their own WhatsApp circle. However, following a series of internal squabbles and arguments, the footage was leaked to the public, prompting the Kollam East Police to raid the homes of the six men and seize the firearm.

While the police are conducting a scientific examination of the weapon, the self-proclaimed gangsters insist the whole thing was a misunderstanding. They claim the video was filmed as a joke and that the "fearsome" underworld office was actually a conspiracy to make a prank look like a threat. Aaromal, one of the men in the video, clarified that the "gang meeting" was actually just a group of friends gathering to observe his father’s death anniversary. As for the weapon that sparked the police raid, Aaromal maintains it was simply his son’s toy—noting that the boy even dutifully handed it over to the officers themselves. Despite the domestic explanation, the police are keeping the investigation open until the "underworld" toy is cleared by experts.