MALAPPURAM: The Vengara police on Friday morning arrested five persons for allegedly abusing a group of girls on social media. The arrested are: Shamsudheen, 35, Abdul Gafoor, 31, Sadiq, 21, Lukman, 24, and Hyderali, 21. All of them, according to the police, are natives of Kilinakkode. Vengara police on Wednesday registered a case against the five after a complaint was lodged by a group of girls alleging social media abuse.
The complaint was lodged by a group of 13 girl-students of Tirurangadi PSMO College after they were abused on Facebook and WhatsApp by self-styled moralists.
According to the complaints, a few persons at Kilinakkode defamed them by posting an audio clip on social media saying the girls hugged men from other religions after a wedding function and that they had travelled on motorcycles with boys. The issues started on Sunday after the girls attended a wedding of their classmate at Kilinakkode.
The girls posted a selfie video on social media, alleging they faced abuse from a group of people at Kilinakkode.
The video showed the girls terming Kilinakkode residents ‘culture-less fellows’. The girls also said the people of Kilinakkode still live in 12th century.
The video went viral on social media, drawing protests from people of Kilinakkode. This was followed by verbal attacks on the girls in social media.
Protest against complainants
On Tuesday, the girls approached the police and more than 200 people gathered in front of the police station, protesting against them, leaving the situation tense for more than two hours. The police then registered a case under various sections of the IPC.