Kozhikode: A special team from the Kozhikode district police headquarters will initiate a probe against CPM leader KK Lathika for sharing the controversial ‘kafir’ screenshot. The Director General of Police (DGP) ordered the investigation on Thursday following a complaint filed by the Youth Congress.
The team will lead the investigation initially without filing a case and take further decisions once the probe is completed.
Earlier, the Vadakara police, who probe into the origin of the post, questioned Lathika and concluded there was no need for further investigation against her.
Lathika, a CPM state committee member and former Kuttiadi MLA shared the post, a screenshot, spread in the name of Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) Kozhikode district secretary Muhammed Khasim P. It stated, “Shafi is 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.” The post hit the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency just before the 2024 general elections and referred to the contest between CPM’s KK Shailaja and Congress’ Shafi Parambil, where the latter won by 1,14,506 votes.
Lathika shared the post with a caption; “How communal. Shouldn’t our state exit even after the election? Don’t spread such communal messages.” In response, the United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders demanded her arrest, accusing the CPM of fabricating the screenshot to polarise the constituency. Once the post sparked a heated argument in Kerala's political sphere, Lathika deleted it from her Facebook page and locked her profile.
Meanwhile, the police have issued another notice to Facebook, the second accused in the case, citing a lack of cooperation with the investigation. The controversial screenshot was initially circulated by pro-CPM pages ‘Porali Shaji’ and ‘Ambadimukk Sakhakkal,’ which have over 8 lakh and 1 lakh followers, respectively. To advance the case, the cops need to question the admins of these pages, which requires Facebook's cooperation.
