'FAKE' HARTAL

Kerala: Former RSS activist held for 'fake' hartal call on WhatsApp

SDPI protesters [File] Protesters stage a march in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district against the Kathua case | Supplied

The police have arrested a 19-year-old former RSS activist in connection with the violence in the April 16 flash hartal. The arrested youth was an admin of WhatsApp groups 'Voice of Truth' and 'Voice of Sisters'.

The Thenmala resident is believed to be have sent the first message that culminated in a violent hartal.

Earlier in the day, a 10th standard student, the 'administrator' of the communally charged WhatsApp group, 'Voice of Truth' had landed in police net. His phone records are being examined.

An unofficial hartal that mobilised cadre from social media had paralysed Kerala, especially the northern parts, protesting the Kathua rape and murder where an 8-year-old tribal girl was brutalised and murdered in a Hindu temple.

Five people hailing from Kilimanoor in Thiruvananthapuram, believed to be among the first to have given the call for the hartal, are in the custody of Manjeri police.

Police have arrested over 900 people from different parts of the state in connection with the incident.

According to the police, the hate mongering messages and the hartal call spread through this group were the initial trigger for the violent protests.

Police have been making mass arrests of people who instigated violence and have been slapping various charges against the arrested including promoting religious enmity, attacking police officers, rioting and unlawful assembly.

Fake admins?

Police also doubt that the real admins of the group had made the boy a scapegoat and quit fearing a possible police crackdown. To ascertain facts, police are verifying the mobile phones seized from various youths. Sixteen children have been arrested so far on charges of violence and have been shifted to juvenile homes.

Meanwhile a few Palakkad residents have approached High Court for anticpatory bail in the wake of the police registering FIR against them for unlawful assembly, blocking vehicles and an attempt to destroy flags of BJP. They are Puthunagaram natives Mohammed Ansari,

Sulfiqar Ali, Firoz Khan, Sikander Basha, Kaja Hussain, Sirajuddin, Najimuddin and Mohammed Ali.

A 25-year-old youth, Shefeque,was arrested for blocking a judge's vehicle on the road on the hartal day by the Tirur police. Shefeque was earlier accused of a police station attack case.

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