UAPA Invoked Against Kerala Man Held Over Offensive Comment on Pahalgam Attack Victim

The police have invoked the stringent UAPA against a Kerala native, who was arrested on his return from Saudi Arabia over an alleged offensive comment posted under a video featuring the daughter of a victim of the Pahalgam terror attack, officials said on Monday.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has been invoked against Muhammed Sanoof (26), a native of Aikkarappadi in Malappuram district, who was detained on his arrival at Karipur airport on July 4.

Last year, Muttam police in Kollam registered a case against Sanoof for allegedly posting an offensive comment under a video featuring the daughter of N Ramachandran, a Kochi native who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack.

The case was registered on a complaint lodged by a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).

Police had issued a lookout notice against Sanoof, based on which he was detained on his arrival at the airport.

Officials at the Muttam police station said the UAPA was invoked following his interrogation and the examination of his mobile phone.

Police said they had obtained crucial evidence during the preliminary investigation, based on which the decision was taken to invoke the UAPA.

Sanoof has been remanded to judicial custody.

Police said they would move the court seeking his custody for detailed interrogation.

Officials said the investigation is likely to be handed over to the Crime Branch or the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar reacted to the arrest in a social media post, questioning how "a young Malayali gets brainwashed into celebrating the brutal, cold-blooded murder of a fellow Keralite in the Pahalgam terror attack." Describing the arrest as a "wake-up call", Chandrasekhar alleged that it was not an isolated incident but the result of "years of appeasement, radicalisation and Congress-CPI(M)'s political hypocrisy".

He also asserted that Kerala's future lay in "deeper integration with India's growth story" and called for an end to what he termed "dangerous politics" and the beginning of the "politics of performance".