Kozhikode: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the fake "Kafir screenshot" case linked to the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign in Vadakara on Saturday arrested another DYFI leader, taking the investigation a step further.

The arrested person has been identified as Amal, a DYFI Vadakara Block Committee member and a CPM Kannankuzhi branch committee member. He had earlier been questioned by the SIT. According to investigators, Amal played a role in circulating the fabricated screenshot. The SIT found that he had shared the fake "Kafir screenshot" in a WhatsApp group named "Red Battalion", leading to his arrest.

Amal is the second CPM and DYFI functionary to be arrested in the case. Last month, the SIT arrested Jithin Bhaskar, a DYFI Block Committee member and CPM Thuruthi Local Committee member, after questioning him. His arrest followed the interrogation of CPM local leader Ribesh Ramakrishnan, who allegedly told investigators that Jithin had shared the controversial screenshot in a CPM workers' WhatsApp group named "Vadakara Squad," of which he was reportedly the administrator. Jithin was later granted bail by a court.

The controversy dates back to the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when a fabricated screenshot of an alleged WhatsApp message surfaced on social media in the Vadakara constituency. The message was falsely attributed to Muhammad Kasim P, Kozhikode district secretary of the Muslim Students' Federation (MSF). The message referred to the electoral contest between CPM candidate KK Shailaja and Congress leader Shafi Parambil, who went on to win the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 1,14,506 votes.

During the election campaign, the screenshot was widely circulated by Left leaders and supporters through Facebook posts and WhatsApp groups associated with the CPM and the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Its circulation triggered allegations of communal polarisation and hate propaganda, intensifying political tensions in the constituency.

Following the controversy, CPM leader P Bhaskaran Master filed a complaint with the Vadakara police, leading to the registration of a case against Muhammad Kasim. However, Kasim and the MSF leadership denied any involvement and demanded a comprehensive probe to identify those responsible for creating and circulating the fabricated content. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) also alleged that the conspiracy had been orchestrated by the CPM.

Subsequent police investigation found that Muhammad Kasim had no role in creating or circulating the fake screenshot. The investigation was reopened after the UDF government assumed office, following which the case was handed over to the SIT, which has since intensified its probe into those allegedly involved in the creation and dissemination of the fabricated content.