Kerala

Anti-national statements: Police prepare report on preacher

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KOCHI:  After running a check on social media accounts and online portals in Kerala that have been posting videos and statements of Islamic State (IS) and on radicalism, intelligence agencies have zeroed in on a Kozhikode-based preacher who have been uploading his fiery statements on an online portal, exhorting youth to shun nationalism.

The agencies have already prepared a report on the preacher after analysing the content of the statements he had made so far and is awaiting the government’s nod to plan further course of action. “There are a few online portals which are uploading content that is anti-national and highly radical in nature. We are closely monitoring the development and will take appropriate action,” said a senior intelligence officer.

Ever since the Sri Lankan serial bomb blasts, the Kerala Police have been keeping a close watch on the cyber world as videos of IS claiming responsibility of the bomb blasts were translated into Malayalam and widely circulated on social media platforms before pulling it down.

Both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the police have been tracking the social media accounts of a few suspects who have been circulating videos and statements of Mohamed Zahran Hashim, suspected to be mastermind behind the blasts. Earlier, the Centre had launched a similar drive against websites that posted radical and anti-national contents. But later it asked Internet Service Providers (ISP) to unblock the 32 websites that were banned.

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