The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Police to submit a progress report on the investigation on the WhatsApp screenshot that hit the social media space on the eve Lok Sabha election seeking vote for Congress candidate Shafi Parambil because he is a “devout youngster who prays five times a day”, and calling his rival K K Shailaja of the CPI-M an “infidel female candidate”

The court’s directive came while considering a petition filed by Muslim Youth League leader P K Kasim. Kasim approached the High Court , alleging that a fake screenshot was circulated in his name.

He sought a direction to the police to find the source of the screenshot and take down the “fake message” on the Facebook pages of CPI-M supporters and leaders.

A single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas on Friday directed the state Police Chief to submit a report on the investigation done to date on the communal message by June 14

Kassim stated that despite filing a complaint with Vadakara police, the authorities failed to take effective action and instead, redirected the probe against him

Kasim submitted that he fell victim to a fake and fabricated screenshot that was circulated on Facebook, following which the police registered a case against him under Section 153 A of Indian Penal Code.

He said that on the day before the election, he came across a Facebook post on the page of ‘Ambadimukk Sagakkal’, along with a screenshot of a fake WhatsApp post purportedly shared by the petitioner in a bogusly created Youth League group.

“As soon as I became aware of the screenshot being circulated in my name, I approached the Vadakara police to file a complaint against the Ambadimukk Sagakkal Facebook ID, where the screenshot had first appeared. However, the police registered a case against an ‘unknown person’. They are clearly showing a bias in the issue,” Kasim said in his petition

The CPI-M’s cyberspace used the screenshot that circulated in the name of Kassim,

accusing the Congress-led UDF of running a communal campaign for Shafi Parambil. CPI-M state committee member and former MLA K K Lathika shared the screenshot of the message on her Facebook page with a comment “How communal”.

The UDF alleged that the message purportedly written by MSF’s Kozhikode district secretary Muhammed P K was fake and spread by CPI-M to polarise the voters of Vadakara in Shailaja’s favour.