SIT arrests DYFI activist in ‘Kafir’ screenshot case

Kozhikode: SIT (special investigation team) probing the controversial ‘Kafir screenshot’ case, which had sparked a major political row during the 2024 LS elections, arrested a DYFI worker for allegedly sharing the screenshot in a Left-leaning WhatsApp group.

SIT, led by district CB deputy SP T Manoharan, arrested Jithin Bhaskar, who is a member of DYFI’s Vadakara block committee and CPM’s Thuruthi local committee in Thiruvallur on Tuesday.SIT said Bhaskar was the first one to forward the screenshot in the WhatsApp group named ‘Vadakara Squad’. It also found that he had personally forwarded the screenshot to many persons. Bhaskar is also an administrator of ‘Vadakara Squad’ WhatsApp group.

Police said the team will take him into custody for further questioning to find the person who created the post.Police booked him under various IPC provisions, including charges related to promoting communal disharmony, attempting to incite unrest and destruction of evidence.The screenshot reportedly portrayed LDF candidate Shailaja as a ‘kafir’ and UDF candidate Shafi Parambil as a pious person, sparking controversy during the poll campaign.

The ‘fabricated screenshot’ was circulated in the name of MYL activist Mohammed Kasim ahead of Vadakara Parliamentary election.The investigation in the case, which was registered during the tenure of the previous LDF govt, had stalled after police found that DYFI activist Ribesh Ramakrishnan forwarded the post in another WhatsApp group. SIT questioned Ramakrishnan and several DYFI activists.Investigators said all administrators of Left-leaning WhatsApp groups through which the screenshot was circulated were questioned.

The screenshot was widely circulated during the election campaign, including by CPM leaders, before it was withdrawn after the controversy.Cong MLA K Praveenkumar said Bhaskar was only a small fry and SIT probe would expose the role of CPM functionaries behind the attempt to create communal divide during the poll campaign. UDF govt had formed an SIT to probe the case soon after it assumed office in May.