Hindu IAS WhatsApp group: chief secretary seeks action againt Gopalakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram: Recommending action against Director of Department of Industries and Commerce K Gopalakrishnan in the Mallu Hindu IAS WhatsApp group controversy, the Chief Secretary, in his report given to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, rejected Gopalakrishnan's explanation that his phone was hacked. The report states that Gopalakrishnan's reply is not satisfactory and recommends taking appropriate action against him.

Earlier, the chief secretary had sought a report from the state police chief on the WhatsApp group controversy. The police chief was directed to submit the investigation report immediately. The investigation report submitted by the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar to the DGP puts K Gopalakrishnan under the shadow of suspicion in the controversy.

Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner handed over the report to the DGP, mentioning that K Gopalakrishnan's actions were suspicious. The commissioner expressed doubt over Goplakrishnan handing over the phones after formating them.

Gopalakrishnan formatted the phones before giving them to the police, resetting the device three or four times. Due to this, the forensic examination could not confirm whether the phone was hacked or not. According to the report, the phone was formatted after informing that the personal information was being removed.