LoP Satheesan accuses police of 'double standards' in cyber attack cases

Kochi, Sep 20 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Saturday accused the state police of "showing double standards" in investigating online attacks against women.

Replying to reporters’ questions on alleged cyber attacks targeting CPI(M) leader K J Shine and Vypin MLA K N Unnikrishnan, Satheesan alleged that the news was first leaked from the Marxist party itself.

Rubbishing criticism by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan against Congress social media handles, he said the Left leader was “a person who had launched malicious campaigns against women before.” “It first came out from the CPI(M). The news appeared on a YouTube channel also… The CP(M) should investigate how the incident related to the Vypin MLA came to light,” he told reporters in Kothamangalam.

He, however, admitted that Congress handles may have also "propagated" it.

Apparently referring to recent party action against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil over multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Satheesan said, “Congress was a party which had taken a stand that no other political party would take when such an issue came before it.” Alleging that for the past one month, the CPI(M) had been attacking Congress leaders in the name of women in connection with the Mamkootathil issue, he said no question of human rights arose then.

“Now, a case has been registered in 24 hours,” he said, referring to the case registered by the Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police on Friday against two individuals over alleged cyber attacks targeting Shine and Unnikrishnan.

“Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's daughter was brutally insulted through online platforms during the time of the Puthuppally bypoll (in 2023). A case was filed, but no action was taken,” the LoP said, accusing police of "showing double standards in handling cyber attacks." He also alleged that CPI(M) cyber teams have targeted several women journalists, and no action was taken by the police against the accused.

The Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police on Friday booked C K Gopalakrishnan and K M Shajahan following a complaint from Shine in connection with the cyber attacks.

Gopalakrishnan is accused of posting derogatory remarks against Shine and Unnikrishnan on Facebook, while Shajahan allegedly made objectionable comments about them on his YouTube channel, Prathipaksham, officials said.

According to the FIR, the accused created and circulated images and messages containing sexual content between September 14 and 18 across platforms, including Facebook, Threads, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and other digital media.

Shine alleged that Congress was behind the online attacks targeting her and the CPI(M) legislator. She claimed that Gopalakrishnan, one of the accused, is a Congress activist managing the party's social media platforms. PTI LGK SSK ROH