Kozhikode (Kerala), Jul 3 A court on Friday granted bail to a DYFI leader, who was arrested in connection with the alleged circulation of a fake social media screenshot portraying CPI(M) leader K K Shailaja as a "kafir" during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign in Vadakara, where she unsuccessfully contested against Congress leader Shafi Parambil.
Kozhikode Principal Sessions Judge V S Bindukumari granted bail to Jithin Bhaskar, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on June 16.
He had approached the Sessions Court after the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Vadakara, rejected his bail application.
Police alleged that Bhaskar, a former DYFI Vadakara block committee member and CPI(M) Thiruvallur Thuruthi local committee member, had circulated the controversial screenshot to around 200 persons through a WhatsApp broadcast and attempted to destroy evidence.
Investigators said the district forensic division had obtained evidence supporting the allegations.
The SIT had earlier found that another Democratic Youth Federation of India leader, Ribesh Ramakrishnan, had circulated the screenshot through a WhatsApp group named "Vadakara Squad", of which Bhaskar was the administrator.
According to the police, the screenshot was subsequently forwarded to several other WhatsApp groups.
The case triggered a major political controversy during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign after a fake social media post allegedly portrayed Shafi Parambil as a devout Muslim and K K Shailaja as a "kafir", while falsely attributing the post to Indian Union Muslim League worker Mohammed Kasim.
After the UDF came to power, the state government constituted an SIT to reinvestigate the case.
The SIT subsequently arrested Bhaskar in connection with the alleged circulation of the fake screenshot.
