UAPA against Kerala man held for 'offensive' comment on Pahalgam victim

The Kerala Police have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against a 26-year-old man arrested over an alleged offensive comment posted under a video featuring the daughter of a victim of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The accused, Muhammed Sanoof, a native of Aikkarappadi in Malappuram district, was detained on his arrival at Karipur airport on 4 July after police acted on a lookout notice issued in the case.

Police said the stringent anti-terror law was invoked following Sanoof's interrogation and the examination of his mobile phone, during which investigators claimed to have recovered crucial evidence during the preliminary probe.

Sanoof has been remanded to judicial custody. Police said they would seek his custody for further interrogation, while the investigation is likely to be transferred to the Crime Branch or the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The case stems from an alleged offensive comment posted under a video featuring the daughter of N. Ramachandran, a Kochi resident who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack. A case was registered last year by the Muttam police in Kollam district following a complaint by a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

Responding to the arrest, BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar questioned in a social media post how "a young Malayali gets brainwashed into celebrating the brutal, cold-blooded murder of a fellow Keralite in the Pahalgam terror attack".

Describing the arrest as a "wake-up call", Chandrasekhar alleged that it reflected "years of appeasement, radicalisation and Congress-CPI(M)'s political hypocrisy". He also called for an end to what he termed "dangerous politics" and advocated a shift towards the "politics of performance".