Case registered against five people over FB posts targeting K.C. Venugopal

A case has been registered against five people for allegedly posting defamatory and objectionable content on Facebook targeting AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, police said on Monday.

The case was registered by the Alappuzha Cyber Police following a complaint filed by advocate Johnson Abraham on Sunday night.

According to police, the accused allegedly published derogatory and objectionable posts targeting Venugopal on various dates between 11 May and 19 July. The posts were allegedly intended to create hatred and provoke a breach of public peace.

The five have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Kerala Police Act. The charges include circulating false information with the intent to create or promote enmity, deliberately giving illegal provocation with the intent or knowledge that it could lead to a riot, and causing public nuisance.

Police said the social media posts were made while discussions were underway over the possible candidate for Kerala chief minister after the United Democratic Front (UDF) won the state assembly election.

Venugopal's name was among those being discussed for the chief minister's post. Police said the accused allegedly used Facebook to oppose his candidature and made posts targeting him.

Investigators have collected details of the accused and copies of the allegedly objectionable posts, police said. The five are expected to be interrogated as part of the investigation.

With PTI inputs