Kottayam, Kerala – Police on Sunday registered a case against three individuals for allegedly circulating defamatory content online aimed at a deceased journalist.
The Kottayam Cyber Police filed the complaint after an unidentified caller made an abusive phone call to the Malayalam Manorama head office on July 9, using vulgar language directed at Jijo John Puthezhath, the Malayalam Manorama Special Correspondent who died of cardiac arrest in Kochi.
The recorded conversation was posted publicly on September 10 by the Facebook page ‘SV Vibes’, managed by SV Arun Kumar, after Puthezhath’s death. The FIR says that following the post, abusive comments targeting the late journalist and his family were made from Facebook profiles named ‘Ashraf Tharang’ and ‘Santhosh Kumar’.
The Cyber Crime Police have charged the accused under sections 296(b) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act for using obscene language, defamation, and causing nuisance. Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala condemned the attacks on Puthezhath and his family on social media.
