Kerala Police raided the home of Congress leader C.K. Gopalakrishnan in Kochi on Monday, probing a cyber-abuse case filed by CPI-M leader K.J. Shine. The search targeted online harassment that Shine says damaged her reputation with false and humiliating posts.
Shine, a well-known CPI-M figure in Ernakulam district, ran for the Ernakulam Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections but lost to Congress’s Hibi Eden. She filed a complaint accusing Gopalakrishnan—once a close aide to late CPI-M chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan—and K.M. Shahjahan of spreading derogatory content on social media.
During the raid, officers seized a mobile phone they suspect was used to post the abusive material. “We’ll run technical checks to confirm if this device made those posts,” police said. Gopalakrishnan wasn’t home at the time, and authorities believe he’s avoiding them. They plan to issue him a notice soon to come in for questioning.
This case stems from Shine’s report of targeted online attacks. To speed things up, the police have asked Meta for help tracing the origins of the posts. “Once we get Meta’s report, we’ll decide on arrests and confirm if the accused ran those accounts,” officials explained.
The investigation goes beyond Shine—it also covers cyber-attacks on CPI-M MLA K.N. Unnikrishnan. Police are digging into more than 100 social media accounts linked to the offensive content and might name additional suspects as they uncover more.
Other CPI-M leaders have lodged similar complaints, highlighting the rising problem of social media harassment against politicians in Kerala. Authorities promise a thorough probe to identify everyone involved and hold them accountable.
Shahjahan, meanwhile, says he’ll fight the charges in court. This incident underscores the urgent need to tackle online abuse in India’s political scene.
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