KOZHIKODE: The special investigation team (SIT) on Tuesday recorded its first formal arrest in the Vadakara ‘Kafir’ screenshot case. Jithin Bhaskar, a DYFI Vadakara block committee member and CPM Thiruvallur-Thuruthil local committee member, was taken into custody after interrogation.
Kozhikode Rural SP T Farash said the police have added stringent charges, including destruction of evidence, alongside IPC Section 153 for provoking riots,. The SIT will soon seek Jithin’s custody for interrogation.
On the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a fabricated screenshot had gone viral, claiming that Muslim Students Federation (MSF) leader Muhammad Kasim had posted a message branding LDF candidate K K Shailaja a ‘Kafir woman’. While the previous LDF administration closed the investigation claiming the original source was untraceable, the new UDF government reconstituted the SIT. The trail was tracked back to a WhatsApp group, ‘Vadakara Squad’, created explicitly for Left-wing election public relations work. Investigators found that Jithin, the group’s administrator, was the first to post the image.
“The accused played a major role in dissemination of the fake, communal screenshot,” Farash told reporters. “While the source has not yet been identified, the arrest is a critical step towards tracking it down. Our scientific analysis revealed attempts to wipe the data and conceal the digital trail.”
Reacting to the arrest, Kozhikode North MLA K Jayanth accused the CPM of engineering communal polarisation. “Those arrested now are just small fish. The big sharks are yet to be caught.”.
Youth Congress leader V P Dulkhifil, too, said the conspiracy runs much deeper. “This was intentionally manufactured with the blessings of top leaders to disrupt the election and foster communalism. The masterminds behind it must be identified and prosecuted.” Koduvally MLA PK Firoz said the arrest vindicated the UDF’s stand that Left-wind cyber activists manufactured the divisive message.
