Kozhikode: The Director of General  Education initiated a departmental inquiry on Friday against Ribesh Ramakrishnan, a lower primary school teacher at Arangot MLP School here, in connection with the controversy surrounding the 'Kafir' screenshot.

The Director of General Education has tasked the Thodannur Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) with conducting the inquiry and instructed the submission of a detailed report. Following this, necessary action will be taken against Ribesh, the DYFI Vadakara block president and CPM-affiliated teachers' association leader. The inquiry was prompted by a complaint filed by VP Dulkifil, the State General Secretary of the Youth Congress.

The 'Kafir' screenshot surfaced on social media and messaging apps in Vadakara on the eve of the Lok Sabha election on April 25. It called CPM leader and LDF candidate KK Shailaja an infidel (Kafir) and sought votes for Congress candidate Shafi Parambil in the name of his religion.

Muhammad Kasim, an MSF leader accused in the case, alleged that Ribesh initially posted the screenshot in a WhatsApp group. Kasim further accused the police of attempting to protect Ribesh and others involved.

Meanwhile, in the report submitted by the police to the High Court, it was clarified that the screenshot containing the 'Kafir' remark spread to other groups from the 'Red Encounters' WhatsApp group, where Ribesh, the group's admin, initially posted it. Ribesh failed to provide information about the screenshot's source, so his phone was seized for examination.