THRISSUR: The family of YouTuber Manavalan turned against the police for forcefully cutting the former’s styled hair. Muhammad Shaheen Shah, alias Manavalan, was arrested for attempting murder on the students of Kerala Varma College Thrissur. According to the family, the police trimmed the Youtuber’s long hair and even shaved the beard.

The parents said that the prison authorities behaved with vindictiveness and alleged that a move was being made to portray Shaheen as mentally ill.

Manavalan's family:

"Even those sentenced to rigorous imprisonment are exempted from cutting hair. Just two hours after he was brought in, police tried to cut his hair but Shaheen resisted. The next day, the officials forced him down and trimmed his hair. We found that the jail authorities do not have such authority to change the personal preferences of inmates. A complaint has been lodged with the Chief Minister and the DGP.

We heard about the news but never knew it was this bad. Shaheen was unrecognizable. His beard was gone, and hair cut in half. He told officials about having a film shoot next month but they paid no heed. They even threatened that Shaheen would be sent to a mental asylum after his jail term ended. “

After his hair was trimmed, Manavalan went berserk and created trouble inside jail. He was then taken to a mental health centre. On April 19, 2024, Shaheen and his gang tried to run a car over students of Kerala Varma College. After the incident, he went into hiding. A lookout notice was also issued against him.

Shaheen Shah was arrested by Thrissur West Police from Coorg, Karnataka on Tuesday night. Even before entering the jail, Shaheen filmed reels while being handcuffed. The Thrissur Judicial Magistrate Court remanded him for 14 days.