Kozhikode: The Vadakara Judicial First Class Magistrate (JFCM) Court -- hearing the progress of the probe into 'kafir screenshot' -- on Friday, December 13, asked the prosecution why the individuals responsible for circulating the communal message on the eve of the Lok Sabha election, were not included as accused in the case.

According to the police report submitted to the Kerala High Court on August 12, 2024, those who admitted to sharing the screenshot on social media include Maneesh KK, admin of the Ambadimukku Sakhakal Facebook group; Amal Ram, who shared it in the Red Battalion WhatsApp group; Ribesh RS, who posted it in the Red Encounter WhatsApp group; and Wahab, admin of the pro-CPM Facebook page Porali Shaji.

Maneesh is also the CPM Mayyil branch secretary and is considered one of the first to share the screenshot on Facebook. Ribesh is DYFI's Vadakara Block Committee president and also a teacher in a government-aided school.

"When we mentioned these names, the court asked the prosecution why they were not named as accused in the case," said Advocate Mohammed Shah, representing MSF leader Muhammad Khasim P K, in whose name the fake screenshot was circulated in pro-CPM WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages.
When the public prosecutor said that they could be booked once the investigation was completed, magistrate Sheeja AM asked how Khasim was named as accused without an inquiry.

The screenshot, suspected to be fabricated, called CPM leader and LDF candidate in Vadakara K K Shailaja an infidel (kafir) and sought votes for Congress candidate Shafi Parambil in the name of his religion.

Adv. Shah said in the court that police should arrest Ribesh and question him in custody because he, unlike others, did not reveal the source of the screenshot, and was one of the first to share it on WhatsApp groups. Khasim's lawyer argued that the police had failed to conduct a proper inquiry. To be sure, police have named these individuals as witnesses in the case, and despite no evidence against Khasim have named him as an accused.

The police have yet to receive the forensic test report on the mobile phones. On September 9, the High Court, while closing Khasim's petition for a fair police inquiry, directed the Vadakara Station House Officer to complete the tests within three weeks. Three months later, the report remains pending. When Adv. Shah raised this in court, the prosecutor said they were awaiting a response from the District Forensic Science Laboratory, Kozhikode.

Khasim approached the JFCM court in Vadakara as he perceived that the police were dragging their feet in the investigation.
The court adjourned the case to December 20. "We are expecting the police to include those who shared the screenshot as accused in the case by then," said Adv. Shah.