April 10's police report on the brutal torture and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Jammu's Kathua triggered a public outcry across the country. As expected, social media was rife with outraged comments.
Hi-tech experts in Kerala police, however, could not help detect a pattern in the social media protests. The officers monitoring the web informed their superiors that some of the reactions bordered on criminal instigation.
The hi-tech cell and the cyber cell, two divisions of the Kerala police dedicated to keep a tab on social media, were put on alert. So was the cyber dome set up in Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram.
On April 14, the hi-tech cell headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram received a report from north Kerala that several WhatsApp groups have been created to organise a hartal in the state on April 16 to protest the girl's murder.
The hi-tech cell and the cyber cell launched an investigation at the district level immediately. Special branch officers were also roped in.
The police game plan
The officers soon realised that they were up against a formidable challenge. Numerous WhatsApp groups had sprung up in protest of the murder. The policemen infiltrated some of the groups by sending sympathetic messages to the admins.
The police were convinced that such groups operated in every district and they were planning to call for a hartal on April 16. The force, however, had no inkling that the faceless campaign on social media could snowball into a law and order problem. Even those who exhorted for the protest did not anticipate such a reaction.
Kerala’s first social media-driven hartal unleashed large-scale hooliganism across the state. Shops and establishments were attacked and even looted in some places. The police woke up to the violence. Cyber cells in each districts were asked to submit a detailed report on the chain of actions.
Most of the hartal cases were reported from Malappuram district. Every police station in the district fed information to the local cyber cell, led by district police chief Debesh Kumar Behera. Each station formed a special team to deal with the situation.
Similar war rooms were set up in all other districts. Crime branch inspector general S Sreejith coordinated the efforts.
The Malappuram police formed a 20-member special team including Malappuram deputy superintendent of police Jaleel and Perinthalmanna deputy superintendent of police M P Mohanachandran. Another team led by crime branch deputy superintendent of police Josy Cherian supported the team.
Backed by the hi-tech cell and cyber cell headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the cyber cell in Malappuram sifted through around 2 lakh telephone calls.
The Manjeri breakthrough
The police came across a valuable lead at Manjeri, where they fished for information from a WhatsApp group, whose admin was a 15-year-old boy. They received information on a state-wide group. The police also tracked down two students from Koottayi and Pookkottoor who would eventually lead them to the masterminds of the campaign.
The police now knew that two WhatsApp groups - ‘Voice of Youth’ and ‘Justice for Sisters’ - were formed on April 14 by some people around Thiruvananthapuram. This group was the origin of most of the messages forwarded to the other groups across Kerala.
The police arrested Amarnath Baiju (20) from Uzhukunnu in Kollam, Sudheesh (22) from Nellivila, Akhil (23), Gokul Shekhar (21) from Neyyattinkara and Cyril (21) from Kunnappuzha. These youngsters had drafted the initial messages calling for a hartal. Amarnath had a key role in the group. He had been expelled from a political party three months ago.
While Amarnath mooted the idea of hartal, Akhil encouraged mob violence. He send a message that the police could do nothing when a group of people were engaged in violence. The others propagated similar messages. The police also recovered a message calling for the expansion of the group and working for polarising the state.
Super admins!
Soon after Amarnath and gang created two WhatsApp groups on April 14, their membership swelled. ‘Voice of Youth’ had 250 members, while ‘Justice for Sisters’ spawned similar sounding groups. A group named after the victim was quickly renamed after a court ruling.
Groups were set up in every district, though membership often overlapped. The overwhelming support resulted in more localisation. More and more groups were created at the local levels.
The police suspect that things got a bit out of hand at this stage. The messages assumed dangerously communal tone. Groups were formed among members of communal associations.
The admins then called upon the group members to hit the streets, rather than limiting their anger to just forwarding the messages. The call was promptly forwarded to the other groups.
The proliferation of the groups led to the formation of a group of admins. The super admin group took upon the task of coordinating the campaign.
After the hartal led to large-scale violence, the police cracked down on the groups. Many of the group members had bought the admin’s calls impulsively. Many of them had forwarded the incriminating messages using their real ids, making it easier for the police to track them down.
Communal colours
The police officers interrogating the suspects chanced upon vital information. Even the admins were surprised by the responses evoked by their messages. Amarnath thought he could control the groups initially but he found himself helpless as the campaign got out of hand.
He said that he had no intention of fomenting trouble and he only wanted to organise a state-wide protest. Nevertheless, many groups in north Kerala were full of communally charged messages.
Amarnath claimed that his intentions were not malignant. He told the police that he only wanted justice for the victim. He said he had no control over the communal twist of the campaign.
The police have arrested almost 2,000 persons in connection with the hartal-induced violence. Many of the phones are still being monitored. Many more could be arrested as the investigation progresses.
The police are looking into a conspiracy angle though they are yet to come across any hints of terror links or help from abroad.
As the police tracked down many of the masterminds and admins, several participants have renamed their groups. The police even came across a group named ‘Admin in police net’!
The crackdown has helped the people realise the gravity of the situation. Many admins have started spreading messages that aim to create awareness about social media etiquette. The police are keen to nab as many as possible.
The investigation has been a revelation to the police in many ways. The undercover officers bumped into shocking cases of social media communication about sex.
The police have slapped on the main admins charges that could ensure five to 10 years in prison. The police have also invoked the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for spreading the victim's photo.