Kerala government has greenlit the state police to seek Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from the United States, targeting social media evidence tied to a provocative Facebook post allegedly from former Union Minister and BJP Kerala President Rajeev Chandrasekhar's account. The move, detailed in a Government Order issued on September 8, stems from the horrific twin bomb blasts at a Jehovah's Witnesses convention in Kalamassery on October 29, 2023, which claimed eight lives and shattered the region's fragile communal harmony.
The controversial post, flagged just days after the tragedy on October 31, 2023, by the Ernakulam Cyber Cell, accused the Congress and CPI(M) of "appeasement politics" while invoking the Palestinian group Hamas and hashtags like #HamasTerrorist and #KochiTerrorAttacks. It appeared to link the blasts to Khaled Mashal, the Hamas leader who had virtually addressed a pro-Palestine rally in Kerala the previous day, allegedly stoking religious tensions in the blast's aftermath.
The Ernakulam Central Police Station registered FIR No. 3408/2023 under IPC Sections 153 (provocation to riot) and 153A (promoting enmity on religious grounds), alongside Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act for causing public nuisance. A parallel case, FIR No. 3418/2023, targeted Chandrasekhar and BJP national secretary Anil Antony for similar inflammatory content naming Hamas. Chandrasekhar swiftly approached the Kerala High Court, securing a directive barring coercive police action, but the probes remain active.
Also Read: China Warns of Retaliation Over US Tariff Demands
On July 17, 2025, State Police Chief D. Thiruvengadam requested permission to file the MLA via an online portal, which the government promptly approved. The order empowers Inspector General of Police (Crime Branch) and Interpol liaison officer MB Raveendran to coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The request will funnel through the CBI, India's Interpol nodal, to U.S. counterparts, who will extract data from American-based platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
A senior police insider revealed to PTI that the MLA is laser-focused on unmasking the post's origins—IP logs, account access details, and potential foreign IP traces—to determine if it was indeed Chandrasekhar's or a sophisticated impersonation aimed at deepening communal divides. "This could crack open not just the authorship but broader networks exploiting social media for hate," the source added.
The blasts' prime suspect, Joseph Martin from Palarivattom, surrendered hours later in Thrissur court, confessing to a personal vendetta against the Jehovah's Witnesses. As Kerala's Left administration pushes this international angle, it underscores a zero-tolerance stance on online provocation amid rising digital vigilantism concerns. With BJP leaders decrying it as political vendetta, the probe's U.S. outreach could redefine accountability in India's polarized social media wars.
Also Read: U.S., South Korea, Japan Launch Freedom Edge Military Drills