Kalamassery blasts: Police register 54 cases for spreading communal hatred through social media

 Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala police have registered 54 cases against several people for spreading communally instigative content through social media in the aftermath of the recent blasts at a convention centre in Kochi's Kalamassery during the prayer meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Police said the most number of 26 cases was registered in Malappuram district, followed by 15 in Ernakulam and five cases in Thiruvananthapuram. Thrissur City and Kottayam have reported two cases each, while Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Palakkad and Kozhikode Rural have one case each.

Police, in a release, said they have identified numerous fake profiles which have been used to share posts that can instigate communal hatred.

"Requests have been made to Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and other social media platforms to identify the IP addresses of such fake profiles. The cyber cell in the state is functioning round the clock to identify such handles," the release said. 

A few days back, Kochi police registered a case against Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, BJP leader Anil Antony and a news channel over hate speech.

Three people including a 12-year-old girl and two women were killed in the blasts on October 29. Police arrested Dominic Martin, an estranged member of Jehovah's Witnesses after he surrendered before Kodakara police claiming responsibility for the blasts. Nearly 50 people suffered burns in the blasts. Among the injured, three are in critical condition.

Sessions Court judge Honey M Varghese sent accused Dominic Martin to judicial custody till November 29. Martin refused the assistance of a legal aid lawyer, despite it being offered several times by the court, and said he would represent himself.

(With PTI inputs)