The story so far

A special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala police has sought the custody of a local leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth organisation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in a case related to the creation and circulation of a WhatsApp screenshot with communal overtones in the Vadakara constituency in Kozhikode ahead of the Lok Sabha polls on April 26, 2024.

Jithin Bhaskaran, the Vadakara block committee member of the DYFI, was arrested on June 16. He was the admin of the ‘Vadakara Squad’ WhatsApp group, a pro-Left social media collective. Mr. Bhaskaran has been remanded in judicial custody now.

What is the background of the case?

The screenshot came into the public domain on the eve of the general elections in the Vadakara constituency. The message, purportedly in the name of P.K. Mohammed Khasim, district secretary of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), sought votes for Shafi Parambil, United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, describing him as a ‘deeni yuvavu’ (pious and religious youth) while asking “whether we should vote for him or a kafir (infidel) woman”.

Senior CPI(M) leader K.K. Shailaja was Mr. Parambil’s rival candidate for the Left Democratic Front (LDF). The MSF is the students’ wing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a constituent of the UDF. The message was reported to be posted in a WhatsApp group titled ‘Youth League Nedumbramanna’. The episode came to be known as the ‘kafir screenshot case’.

What happened next?

It was C. Bhaskaran, a functionary of the LDF election campaign committee, who first filed a complaint with the local police seeking a detailed investigation into the episode. Mr. Khasim, while claiming that he had no role in the incident, surrendered his mobile phone with the police and lodged complaints with the District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) and the Vadakara police as well. The general secretary of the Nedumbramanna Youth League branch committee, M.T. Ismail, also filed a police case claiming that there was no such WhatsApp group. The police subsequently registered two cases, one against Mr. Khasim under sections of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity between religious grounds, and another against “unidentified persons”, but invoking minor charges.

What did the inquiry reveal?

The police later concluded after an inquiry that there was no evidence to prove that Mr. Khasim had either created or circulated the screenshot. They also claimed that it was difficult to find who created the message. Mr. Khasim thereafter approached the Kerala High Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the incident. The court directed him to approach the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Vadakara, or the local police. However, claiming there was no follow-up in the investigation, Mr. Khasim again approached the Vadakara court, which asked the police to file a progress report on the inquiry.

In the report, the police claimed that Ribesh Ramakrishnan, a then DYFI leader and an admin of ‘Red Encounter’ social media group, was the first to post the screenshot on social media. It was later shared by Wahab, admin of ‘Porali Shaji’ Facebook page, Maneesh, admin of ‘Ambadimukku Saghakkal’ page, and Amalram, who posted it in ‘Red Battalion’ group. The police later arraigned Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in the case claiming that it had failed to remove the screenshot from one of its pages. Mr. Khasim approached the High Court again seeking a court-monitored probe.

The police, however, informed the court though the post was first shared in pro-Left cyber groups, it was finding it difficult to trace its source. The investigators also claimed that Meta was not cooperating with them. Though the High Court had asked the police to subject the smartphones of the above-mentioned pro-Left activists to forensic examination, the case did not make any headway and it was closed.

How did the case got a new lease of life?

The case hit the headlines again after UDF came into power in the State in May. Parakkal Abdulla, IUML leader and newly elected MLA from Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode, who was part of Mr. Parambil’s campaign team, submitted a request to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala seeking a comprehensive probe. The government subsequently formed the eight-member SIT under T. Manoharan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Kozhikode Rural.

How did the re-investigation progress?

The SIT thereafter decided to expand the probe to ‘Kadathanadu Sakhakkal’ and ‘Bavuppara Sakhakkal’ WhatsApp groups after it reportedly obtained fresh leads in the case following the questioning of the admins of the ‘Vadakara Squad’ group. Mr. Ramakrishnan, along with Manish and Amal, two witnesses in the case, reportedly told the investigators that the controversial screenshot had been received through this group. Mr. Bhaskaran was reported to have shared it there. He is suspected to have circulated it among over 200 people as well. Mr. Bhaskaran’s phone has been sent for forensic examination now.

What is the CPI(M)’s link with the case?

UDF leaders have alleged that that the screenshot could have been created on the instructions of a senior CPI(M) leader in the district. Though some of the CPI(M) leaders had earlier shared the content on their Facebook pages, they were removed later. However, the police are yet to establish that Mr. Bhaskaran had created the screenshot. DYFI leaders, meanwhile, allege that the SIT is trying to target their cadre in the guise of investigation into the case. Ms. Shailaja has said that the probe could continue.