A report submitted by the Kerala police regarding a communal screenshot circulated against Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader KK Shailaja suggests that the post was circulated by people linked to the party itself. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) had raked up the issue of a screenshot calling KK Shailaja, the party’s candidate from Vadakara a Kafir–a term used against non-muslims. The LDF had alleged that the screenshot was being spread by supporters of Shafi Parambil, Shailaja’s rival candidate from the United Democratic Front (UDF). The UDF had denied their involvement in circulating the image.
The screenshots appeared as a message by Muhammad Khasim PK, Kozhikode District Secretary of the Muslim Students' Federation (MSF), linked to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). It said that the message was first posted in a WhatsApp group named 'Youth League Nedumbramanna'. Khasim then approached the police saying that he had never circulated such a post.
The police have now found that the screenshot first emerged in the WhatsApp group of ‘RED ENCOUNTERS’ on April 25 at 2:13 pm. It was posted by Ribesh, who has been identified as Vadakara block president of Democratic Youth Federation (DYFI), linked to the ruling CPI(M). Ribesh's mobile phone has been sent to the District Forensic Science Laboratory to confirm if indeed the screenshot was created by him.
The post was picked up by Amal Ram on the same day at 2:34 pm, who posted it on another WhatsApp group ‘REDBETTALION.’ Following this, Maneesh who handles the Facebook page Ambadimukk Sakhakkal, Kannur, posted the screenshot but removed it later on the same day as he was suspicious of the authenticity of the post.
However, the post was circulated widely due to the reach of the page, which had over one lakh followers. On the night of April 25, Vahab, a staunch supporter of the ruling CPI(M), posted the same screenshot on his Facebook page Porali Shaji, which has over eight lakh followers.
Khasim, whose name was used to circulate the post, had approached the High Court alleging police inaction on his complaint and sought a progress report of the investigation in May. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas ordered the police to submit a report by June 14. When the court heard the case on June 14, it was revealed that Khasim was not the one behind the post but the police could not identify the source. The latest report indicates that the post was first made within the party fold itself.
The report has sowed seeds of discord among the CPI(M) camp. On August 14, KK Shailaja came out heavily against CPIM state committee member and former MLA KK Lathika, who shared the post before Vadakara went for polls. “Whoever created the post should be arrested. True supporters of the Left ideology would not do this. Lathika committed a mistake by sharing the post without knowing its source. The act does not reflect the principles upheld by the CPI(M),” she added.
Congress leader Shafi Parambil said that UDF was aware that it was not them who had created the post. “CPI(M) leadership had dismissed the allegations so far as the accounts were anonymous. Now that it is emerging that these anonymous faces belong to CPI(M), let us see how the party will respond. The court had to intervene due to the laxity shown by the police, who would have behaved differently if it was someone from the opposition,” he said, adding that the directions to do such an act would have come from the top brass of the party leadership.