The State government has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to re-investigate the communally sensitive ‘kafir screenshot controversy,’ which triggered a political storm during the campaign phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election in the Vadakara constituency. State Police Chief Ravada A. Chandrasekhar on Wednesday issued a directive appointing District Police Chief, Kozhikode Rural, T. Farash as the investigating officer. He nominated Inspector General of Police, Kannur Range, Yathish Chandra as the head of the SIT.The electoral battle for Vadakara in Kozhikode was marked by a spirited campaign, which saw the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Central Committee member and former Health Minister K.K. Shailaja locked in a fierce contest with Congress’ high-profile youth leader Shafi Parambil. When the campaign reached a tipping point, a WhatsApp screenshot hailing Mr. Parambil as a “pious Muslim who offers namaz five times a day” appeared on social media groups. The contentious online messaging, which precipitated a tense standoff between the opposing campaigns, portrayed Ms. Shailaja as a ‘kafir’, an insulting term used to refer to non-Muslims and apostates.The Vadakara police investigated district secretary of the Muslim Students Federation Muhammad Kasim in connection with the defamatory post. However, the probe yielded no evidence against Mr. Kasim and ended in a dead end. Notably, the probe stemmed from a complaint lodged by a local CPI(M) leader, P. Bhaskaran. The police later told the court they found no evidence to prosecute Mr. Kasim, and subsequently closed the investigation. Subsequently, the Congress termed the message a political hit-job orchestrated by the CPI(M) to divide the electorate on religious lines as part of a Machiavellan gambit to consolidate Hindu votes in Ms. Shailaja’s favour. Notably, pro-Left Democratic Front social media handles promoted the questionable screenshot online. The Congress accused the then CPI(M) legislator K.K. Lathika of “endorsing” the religiously schismatic screenshot on her Facebook account, an allegation later denied by the leader. The government constituted the SIT after Indian Union Muslim League legislator from Kuttiyadi Parakkal Abdullah, MLA, petitioned Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala to re-investigate the case. In his petition, Mr. Abdullah claimed that the police under the previous LDF government had disregarded a High Court directive to investigate certain DYFI leaders in connection with the incident, including a forensic analysis of their mobile phones. Published - June 03, 2026 09:09 pm IST