Law enforcement agencies have put several social media groups of Facebook and WhatsApp under the scanner in the wake of complaints that they were trying to spread communal hatred after the killing of an Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) worker in Nadapuram last week.
Based on intelligence inputs, District Collector N. Prasanth has cautioned the public to be careful about messages posted and circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp.
‘Vested interests’
“A lot of people with vested communal interests are trying to take advantage. Stern action would be initiated against those trying to spread rumours,” he said.
The cyber cell of the State police has been asked to monitor messages on Facebook and WhatsApp that try to incite communal passions. An all-party meeting held on Sunday pointed to the influence of social media groups attempting to create panic, the Collector said.
‘Act of revenge’K. Aslam, an IUML worker, was killed on Friday evening by an unidentified gang near Nadapuram. The incident was suspected to be an act of revenge as Aslam was the third accused in the murder of DYFI activist C.K. Shibin at Thooneri last year. A special court acquitted him and 16 others in January.
Incidents of violence, including a crude bomb explosion, had been reported a day after Aslam’s murder.
Intelligence agencies do not dismiss these incidents as the outcome of the murder. They believe social media groups in Gulf countries could have fomented them. Vadakkara Assistant Superintendent of Police Karuppaswami, who heads a special team to probe the cases in Nadapuram, said police were closely monitoring social media.
No arrests had been made but investigators had obtained clues about the assailants, he said.
