Kerala: RSS worker booked for defamatory social media post against Ramesh Chennithala

Alappuzha (Kerala), Jul 9 (PTI) An RSS worker has been booked for allegedly posting a defamatory comment against Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on social media in connection with a video on the arrest of a BJP councillor in Thiruvananthapuram, police said on Thursday. Haripad police registered a case on their own on July 4 against Anil Kumar, a resident of Mannarasala in Alappuzha district. According to police, the accused posted the comment in the comments section of a news video related to the arrest of BJP councillor Sugathan in Thiruvananthapuram. Police said the accused had shared a photograph of Chennithala with another person and falsely claimed that the latter was Kishore, who is wanted in several criminal cases and is absconding. In the post, the accused allegedly claimed that the minister and the police had failed to arrest Kishore, officials said. According to police, the photograph, taken in 2023, was circulated on social media with the intention of defaming Chennithala and the police. The post was detected by the Kerala police cyberdome, which then directed Haripad police to register a case. The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Kerala Police Act. Police said the accused was questioned after the case was registered, and his mobile phone was seized and sent for forensic examination. PTI TBA SSK