Kozhikode: CPM state committee member and former Kuttiadi MLA KK Lathika on Sunday deleted the controversial ‘kafir’ post from her Facebook page and locked her profile. The Vadakara police investigated the origin of the post and submitted a progress report to the Kerala High Court on June 10, stating there was no evidence against Khasim. The police have also questioned Lathika in connection with the case.

The post, a screenshot, spread in the name of Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) Kozhikode district secretary Muhammed Khasim P, hit the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency just before the elections.
It stated, "Shafi is a pious young man who offers namaz five times a day and the other is a non-Muslim kafir (infidel) female candidate. Who should we vote for... let us think." This referred to the contest between CPM's KK Shailaja and Congress's Shafi Parambil in Vadakara, where Shafi eventually won by 114,506 votes.

Lathika shared the screenshot with a caption; “How communal. Shouldn't our state exist even after the election? Don't spread such extreme communal messages.” In response, UDF leaders demanded her arrest, accusing the CPM of fabricating the screenshot to polarise the constituency. “CPM should be ready to disown Lathika,” said DCC president Praveen Kumar.

Meanwhile, CPM leaders took up the message to drive home the point that the UDF was running a communal campaign. Both sides held protests.

The message, initially posted in a WhatsApp group named Youth League Nedumbramanna, was circulated by pro-CPM pages including ‘Porali Shaji’ and 'Ambadimukk Sakhakkal Kannur,’ which have over 8 lakh and 1 lakh followers respectively.