Kerala twin murders: Police crackdown on communal messaging, fake news

Kerala DGP Anil Kant on Friday ordered district police chiefs to take action against those spreading fake news on social media, in the wake of the twin murders of two political activists in the state. He also directed the police to book the administrators of such platforms.

“It has been noticed that several messages, inciting communal hatred, are being circulated through social media after the murders of BJP functionary Ranjith Sreenivas and SDPI’s KS Shan earlier this week,” Kant said in Thiruvanthapuram, as reported by PTI.

“The admins of social media groups who permit discussions (inciting communal hatred) will be booked. The cyber wing of the state police has been asked to intensify its surveillance in all districts to check such propaganda,” he added. “Not just those directly involved in the murders, but also its perpetrators, those who provided them weapons, phones and logistics support would be nabbed at the earliest, and action would be taken to find the source of money of criminal gangs”.

The DGP further directed preparation of a list of history-sheeters belonging to both groups on a district-level basis and arrest of absconding criminals.

The police reported on Thursday that 30 cases had been registered across the state in the last five days against some people for spreading provocative messages through social media platforms in a manner that would incite communal hatred.

One person was arrested in a case registered by the West Police in Kollam district in this regard, an official statement said.

Also read: Bloodshed in Alappuzha: ‘There are dangerous signs of polarisation’

Shan, the state secretary of SDPI, was killed by a gang on Saturday night while he was on his way home in Alappuzha, while BJP’s OBC Morcha state secretary Sreenivas was hacked to death in front of his family by some assailants in his house on Sunday in the same district.

ADGP (Law and Order) Vijay Sakhare, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the two cases, said all those directly involved in the crime had managed to escape outside the state, and so the police had sought assistance from the neighbouring states to nab them.

“We cannot divulge the details like in which states they are hiding. Wherever they go, we will chase and catch them. Cyber investigation has also intensified in this regard,” Sakhare was quoted as saying by PTI in Alappuzha.

State minister for fisheries Saji Cheriyan visited the houses of Sreenivas and Shan on Friday. “All those directly involved in the crime have been identified. Several persons have been arrested and remanded,” he told reporters, calling the murders an example of sheer “communal madness”.

(With inputs from Agencies)