Ernakulam: Police have arrested YouTuber KM Shajahan in connection with an alleged defamatory online campaign targeting CPI(M) leader KJ Shine. He was detained from his home in Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram, on September 25 and his arrest was formally recorded the following day. He will be brought to Ernakulam, where he is expected to be produced before a court.
Shajahan, who earlier served as private secretary to the late Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan, had been questioned for several hours at the Ernakulam Rural cybercrime police station in Aluva on September 25 but was not detained at the time. Police said Shine filed a fresh complaint after he uploaded another video naming her. His initial video had not mentioned her by name.
The case is being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed on September 20 to examine Shine’s complaint of cyber harassment. Shine, who contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Ernakulam and previously served in the North Paravur municipality, alleged that offensive content using her photographs was circulated across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and Threads.
An FIR was registered against local Congress leader CK Gopalakrishnan and Shajahan, citing provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman, sections of the IT Act on publishing obscene content online, and clauses of the Kerala Police Act covering online harassment. Investigators have also sought information from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to identify the accounts linked to the campaign.
The controversy has since broadened, with other CPI(M) leaders from Ernakulam coming forward with similar allegations. Vypeen MLA KN Unnikrishnan has lodged a separate defamation case, while district MLAs PV Sreenijan, KJ Maxy and Antony John have also claimed they were targeted by the same social media networks.