The police have not made any efforts to identify the source of a fake screenshot obtained by former MLA and CPI(M) leader K.K. Lathika and circulated on social media on the eve of the Vadakara Lok Sabha election, P.K. Muhammed Khasim, leader of the Muslim Youth League (MYL) told the Kerala High Court.
He made the submission in response to a statement filed by the police in a case filed by the MYL leader seeking a fair investigation into the criminal conspiracy behind the circulation of the ‘fabricated screenshot.’ He pointed out in his reply that the police had stated that Ms. Lathika was questioned and her mobile phone examined by the cyber cell. But the police had not tried to identify from where she had got the screenshot. He alleged that she was among the first persons to circulate the screenshot on April 25 and she shared the screenshot despite knowing that it was fabricated.
The note attached to her Facebook post clearly showed that she had shared the post with the intention of using it for the election campaign. The post was available in her Facebook account even after the FIR was registered. She had removed the post only on June 15. These acts clearly showed that she was complicit in the crime right from its inception, he alleged.
The reply statement also pointed out that the police had failed to give information on a WhatsApp group named ‘Youth League Nidumbramanna.’ It was a group created by the real perpetrator for making the false screenshot. The petitioner still remained as accused in the FIR despite the police acknowledging that investigation had not revealed the role of the petitioner in the incident.
