A non-bailable case has been registered against the admins of a Kerala Facebook group, which can be considered to be the state’s ‘largest secret Facebook group’.
Glassile Nurayum Plateile Curryum (GNPC), which translates to “foaming glass and curry on the plate”, is a closed group on Facebook with around 18 lakhs members that was formed with the intention of promoting responsible drinking.
According to a report by The Hindu, the Nemom police on Tuesday booked the admins – a couple who are based out of Thiruvananthapuram, for allegedly instigating communal trouble and for promoting public and underage drinking.
The report states that the couple has been booked for sanctioning posts that carried images of people drinking on tombs at the burial ground of a minority community and for mocking various spiritual leaders.
They have also been booked under the Juvenile Justice Act for approving posts that show infants sitting on the lap of adults, while the adults are consuming alcohol.
The Hindu report adds that Circle Inspector, Excise, T Anikumar, who is also the principal investigator of the case, has accused the group of promoting various liquor brands.
The group was initially started to act as a platform where food lovers and bloggers would get to interact and share their write ups and feedbacks regarding the various dishes at toddy shops.
However, it soon became a group where people started posting their party pictures and videos.
Police have told News18 that they have evidence that the group admins hosted parties in India and abroad, including in Thiruvananthapuram and Dubai. These parties were reported to have unlimited drinks.
Parties where alcohol is served are expected to require a licence from the Excise Department of India.
As per the News18 report, it is alleged that the admins were promoting these parties on behalf of major liquor companies and the police suspect that these companies must have had an active involvement in organising these parties.
Ajith, who is one of the admins told News18, “We are well aware of the need for responsible drinking. We are a secret group, which means that we vet our members. No one is forced to join the group, nor is the group promoted on Facebook. We also ensure that no single brand of alcohol is promoted over the others. All the posts in the group are of members sharing food or drink at home, with friends, or about their travels. How is that promoting drinking?”