Kerala Court Rejects SIT's Bid to Cancel Bail in Screenshot Case
The Vadakara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kozhikode on Friday dismissed an application by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to cancel the bail granted to Jithin Bhaskaran, the prime accused in a case involving a controversial screenshot that surfaced during the Vadakara Lok Sabha election campaign.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court rejected the SIT's contention that Mr. Bhaskaran had violated his bail conditions after being released from judicial custody on July 3. The prosecution alleged that the accused posted messages on Facebook challenging the investigating team, attempted to create public unrest, and interfered with the investigation.
The case relates to the circulation of a screenshot that falsely portrayed Congress candidate Shafi Parambil as a devout Muslim and CPI(M) candidate K.K. Shailaja as a 'kafir' (non-believer), while attributing the post to a Muslim Youth League worker. According to the prosecution, Mr. Bhaskaran, a former local leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and a member of the CPI(M), sent the screenshot to around 200 WhatsApp recipients and tried to destroy digital evidence. The district forensic division reportedly recovered evidence supporting these allegations. Mr. Bhaskaran was arrested on June 16.
