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The Kerala police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged cyber attack against Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader KJ Shine. She filed a complaint on September 19 with the Ernakulam Rural cyber crime police alleging an online defamatory campaign against her.
KJ Shine has served as the North Paravur municipality and was the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate for the Ernakulam constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In the police complaint, Shine alleges that several Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and Threads accounts made sexually coloured posts using photos of her.
Following Shine’s complaint, the Ernakulam Rural cyber crime police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against CK Gopalakrishnan, a local Congress leader in North Paravoor and KM Shahjahan, private secretary of former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan.
They were booked under sections 78 (stalking), 79 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 3(5) (criminal act by several persons with common intention) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology (IT) Act and 120(o) (causing inconvenience or annoyance through any means of communication) of Kerala Police (KP) Act.
According to reports, currently, the SIT has sought details from Facebook’s parent company, Meta, regarding the social media accounts and individuals behind the defamatory posts.
Meanwhile, KN Unnikrishnan, the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Vypeen, has also filed a defamation case against the same social media accounts alleging defamatory remarks against him.
According to reports, three other CPI(M) MLAs in Ernakulam district, including PV Sreenijan, KJ Maxy, and Antony John, have filed similar complaint as well.