The Ernakulam Rural police have established a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate serious allegations of online defamation brought forward by Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), leader K.J. Shine. She claims to be the target of an extensive and malicious online campaign.
Comprising twelve members, the SIT will operate under the leadership of Munambam DySP S. Jayakrishnan. Their primary role is to support the ongoing case registered by the Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police. Authorities have already recorded Ms. Shine’s statement and, according to police sources, plan to forward the controversial online content to Facebook to identify its original sources.
In a related development, Vypeen MLA K.N. Unnikrishnan provided his statement to the DySP, having also lodged a complaint regarding defamatory content directed at him in connection with this matter. Police confirmed that three other CPI(M) MLAs in Ernakulam district—K.J. Maxy, Antony John, and P.V. Sreenijin—have submitted similar complaints, indicating a broader pattern of online attacks.
The First Information Report (FIR) based on Ms. Shine’s allegations specifically names C.K. Gopalakrishnan, a prominent Congress leader from North Paravoor, and well-known political commentator K.M. Shahjahan as the key accused parties.