Kerala's Legal Pursuit: Facebook Post Sparks Communal Tensions

The Kerala government has given its nod to state police for seeking Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from the United States in the investigation of a controversial Facebook post linked to former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The post follows twin bomb blasts at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention that resulted in eight fatalities on October 29, 2023.

The post from Chandrasekhar's Facebook allegedly sought to unsettle communal peace, suggesting a connection with the Palestinian group Hamas in the context of the Kalamassery blasts. It accused political rivals Congress and CPI(M) of engaging in appeasement politics with hashtags such as HamasTerrorist and KochiTerrorAttacks.

The Kerala police have been sanctioned to approach the United States authorities via India's Interpol agency CBI to gather evidence from social media platforms about the inflammatory post. As the investigation progresses, legal proceedings continue against Chandrasekhar and others for alleged incitement of communal tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)