Shine has been a three-term councillor and holds key positions in the municipality and the Kerala State Teachers Association.
Published Sep 21, 2025 | 2:46 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 21, 2025 | 2:46 PM
A special investigation team has been formed by the Ernakulam Rural police to probe CPM leader K.J Shine's complaint of a coordinated cyber-attack.
Synopsis: A 12-member Ernakulam Rural police team, led by Munambam DySP, probes a cyberattack against CPM leader K.J. Shine, targeting defamatory social media content. Cases are filed against Congress leader C.K. Gopalakrishnan and a YouTuber under IT and Kerala Police Acts. Shine alleges a Congress-led smear campaign, while the opposition denies involvement, escalating political tensions.
A special investigation team has been formed by the Ernakulam Rural police to probe CPM leader K.J Shine’s complaint of a coordinated cyber-attack. The 12-member team, headed by Munambam DySP S Jayakrishnan, will work alongside the Rural Cyber Police and function under his direct supervision.
Shine, who was the CPM’s Lok Sabha candidate from Ernakulam in 2024, alleged that defamatory content against her was spread through social media and certain media platforms.
Following her complaint, cases were registered against Congress leader CK Gopalakrishnan and YouTube channel owner KM Shahjahan under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, IT Act, and Kerala Police Act.
Meanwhile, Vypin MLA KN Unnikrishnan also appeared before the DySP to record his statement and filed a separate complaint over defamatory posts against him.
On Friday, the Cyber Police registered a case based on a complaint filed by Shine, who alleged that she was the target of a coordinated cyberattack and a defamation campaign on social media. The case, registered by the Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police, includes charges under the IT Act for insulting the modesty of a woman and spreading defamatory content.
The police recorded Shine’s statement for over an hour at her residence in Paravur, in the presence of women police officers. Shine reportedly submitted evidence, including links and screenshots of abusive posts.
The copy of FIR
Shine and her husband, Dinesh Thomas, alleged that Congress workers from Paravur were behind the campaign and claimed that Opposition Leader VD Satheesan was aware of it.
They further alleged that the attacks were an attempt to assassinate their character and divert attention from the Rahul Mamkootathil issue.
Dismissing the allegations, Satheesan said the CPI(M) was trying to drag him into the controversy to cover up its own internal problems.
”Why does any such case come to me? Let the CPI(M) investigate how this news came out and through which YouTube channels. When CPI(M) handles spread propaganda against Congress leaders, there was no such concern,” he said.
Ernakulam DCC president Muhammed Shiyas echoed Satheesan, terming the allegations a deliberate attempt by the CPI(M) leadership to implicate the Congress.
The CPM views the cyber attack on KJ Shine as a deliberate attempt by the Congress to tarnish her image, amid speculation she may contest the Paravur assembly seat against VD Satheesan.
Shine has been a three-term councillor in North Paravur and holds key positions in the municipality and the Kerala State Teachers Association.
Political circles suggest the CPM may consider reclaiming Paravur from the CPI to challenge Satheesan, though the party has yet to finalise its assembly election plans. The cyber campaign is seen as a calculated move to discredit Shine.
The cyberattack against KJ Shine on Thursday has drawn strong responses from across Kerala’s political spectrum. In a Facebook post, she described the campaign as a coordinated attempt to malign her through baseless propaganda.
Shine criticised what she called a deliberate attempt to destroy her personally and politically through a series of misogynistic attacks, noting that one mainstream newspaper had also amplified false narratives originally spread online.
She stated that the defamatory content not only hurt her but also caused distress to her family, friends, and colleagues.
Framing the issue as part of a larger struggle for women’s equal right to public life, Shine said women in politics have long faced smear campaigns but must continue to resist them collectively.
She described the attacks as the work of a weakened right-wing lobby attempting to protect its shrinking space in Kerala politics through personal slander.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
