A fresh wave of controversy has hit Kerala’s political landscape, as the wife of a local Congress leader in North Paravur recently lodged a complaint detailing intense cyberbullying by alleged Left sympathizers. This development comes just days after her husband was himself booked by police on defamation charges brought by CPI(M) leader K. J. Shine.
Sherley, the wife of Congress leader C. K. Gopalakrishnan, formally submitted her complaint to the North Paravur police on Sunday. Authorities have since transferred the case to the Cyber Crime police station in Ernakulam rural for further investigation.
According to Ms. Sherley, her family has been targeted with relentless cyberattacks, allegedly orchestrated by individuals sympathetic to the Left Front. She claims to have been depicted in an offensive and demeaning light across various social media platforms, and has provided details of several specific accounts involved in her formal complaint.
Earlier, Mr. Gopalakrishnan and political commentator K. M. Shajahan were both named in a police case initiated by Ms. Shine, leading to their formal booking by the Cyber Crime unit.
This ongoing saga, stemming from accusations of attempts to defame the prominent CPI(M) leader, has ignited a fiery political debate throughout the state in recent times.
Ms. Shine and her party colleagues have openly pointed fingers at the Congress leadership, alleging they orchestrated the initial cyberattack against her. However, Congress leaders, including the Leader of the Opposition, have vehemently denied these accusations, suggesting instead that the defamation campaign might be an internal matter, possibly stemming from rumored factionalism within the CPI(M) in Ernakulam.
The case initiated by Ms. Shine is currently under investigation by a special team (SIT) led by Munambam DySP S. Jayakrishnan. Additionally, four CPI(M) MLAs from the district have filed their own complaints regarding the incident. A police official confirmed that the SIT plans to consolidate and examine the common allegations from all these complaints as part of its comprehensive inquiry.