Kerala official arrested for offensive social media post on plane crash victim

A government employee in Kerala was arrested for allegedly making an offensive comment on Facebook about a Keralite nurse who died in the Ahmedabad plane crash.

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A Pavithran, a junior superintendent holding the responsibility of deputy tehsildar at the Vellarikundu taluk office in Kasaragod district, was arrested hours after he was suspended for humiliating the victim by making sexually harassing remarks and a casteist slur against Ranjitha, who belonged to the forward Nair community, police said.

According to an officer at Hosdurg police station in Kasaragod district, Pavithran has been booked under sections 75(1)(iv) (making sexually coloured remarks), 79 (acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of caste) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) He has also been booked under Section 67(A) of the IT Act (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form), the officer said.

Ranjitha, a mother of two, was working as a nurse in the UK. She had travelled to Kerala on a four-day visit to complete formalities related to her government job, with plans to rejoin service after a stint abroad. She died when she boarded the ill-fated flight on her return.

Following the government servant’s distasteful comments about Ranjitha, an uproar erupted on social media, prompting the government to initiate stringent action against the accused.

In a Facebook post, State Revenue Minister K Rajan described Pavithran’s remarks as “disgraceful” and said the suspension order was issued immediately after the post came to his attention.

Adding to Pavithran’s troubles, the Kasaragod District Collector on Friday recommended strict action, stating that he is unfit to continue in government service.

Officials said that despite repeated warnings, a prior suspension, and a censure, Pavithran allegedly continued posting defamatory content on social media, bringing disrepute to the Revenue Department and the government.

The recommendation followed a series of complaints and disciplinary actions over his persistent misconduct, they added.

Meanwhile, State Health Minister Veena George visited Ranjitha’s residence in Pullad, Pathanamthitta district, and consoled her two sobbing children and grief-stricken family members.