Thiruvananthapuram: Courting a major controversy, Industries Department Director K Gopalakrishnan was in the headlines when the screenshots of a WhatsApp group of ‘Hindu IAS officers’, of which he was the admin, were leaked to the media.
Minutes after the news became viral, the officer clarified, as per reports, that the group was created to wish Diwali. Protocols suggests that civil service officers are prohibited from acting or making decisions on the basis of caste or religion. The group was deleted once the screenshots made it to the news.
Gopalakrishnan later filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell, alleging his WhatsApp account had been hacked. The group, comprising officers ranging from collectors to additional chief secretaries, was deleted within an hour of forming. Gopalakrishnan personally messaged every group member that his WhatsApp account had been hacked. He clarified in the message that someone created 11 WhatsApp groups in his name. He told the media, too, that his phone had been breached.
Meanwhile, CPM leaders and leftist activists slammed the bureaucrat for allegedly trying to create communal divide and spread divisive thoughts through social media.
Industries minister P Rajeev condemned the incident and said that a probe will be conducted to ascertain the truth in the screenshots that has become viral.
“The incident was unfortunate. We will look into the matter and conduct a probe”, he said while speaking to media in Ernakulam.
Two years ago there was a police investigation that was conducted after a WhatsApp group named ‘Pachavelicham’ that was active among police officials in the state. This was revealed after an internal probe was conducted following the orders of the state DGP.
