Kerala IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan. (X)
The Kerala police will conduct a preliminary inquiry against K Gopalakrishnan IAS, who is currently suspended after allegedly creating WhatsApp groups on religious lines, sources said on Friday, 22 November.
Thiruvananthapuram City Narcotics Cell Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) has been appointed the investigation officer.
Even though the police are said to have received legal advice that a case could be registered against Gopalakrishnan, it has decided to proceed with a preliminary inquiry.
Also Read: Kerala bureaucrats are in the news for all the wrong reasons
Chief Secretary raises concerns
In the suspension order of Gopalakrishnan, who was the state’s Director of Industries, Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan had raised serious concerns regarding his conduct.
It was stated that the group was intended to create discord and divisions within the state’s All India Services cadre.
According to official reports, Gopalakrishnan initially lodged a complaint stating that his device had been hacked and contacts were added to the group without his consent.
However, a police investigation found no evidence of hacking, instead noting that Gopalakrishnan had repeatedly factory reset his phone before submitting it for forensic examination, raising further suspicions.
The Chief Secretary alleged that the group was designed to disrupt cadre unity and foster communal alignments within the All India Services.
The actions have been deemed a prima facie violation of several clauses of the All India Service Conduct Rules, 1968.
The government found satisfactory reasons to believe that the WhatsApp group would “foment division, sow disunity and break the solidarity within the All India Service Cadre in the State” and thus placed him under suspension.
Also Read: Beyond bars: Kerala’s women ex-convicts battle stigma and isolation
Alleges hacking
However, sources within the police department had voiced doubts, noting that Gopalakrishnan only reported the alleged hacking after a WhatsApp group – “Mallu Hindu Officers” – gained significant media attention. The group was allegedly created using his WhatsApp number, with the IAS officer as the admin and exclusively comprised Hindu officers.
According to police sources, preliminary findings suggest it was Gopalakrishnan who created the controversial WhatsApp group, though conclusive digital evidence is pending.
To substantiate their suspicions, Kerala police have requested data from WhatsApp and the network service provider, including the IP address and network tower data from when the group was created, as well as any signs of malicious activity on the device.
Adding another layer to the investigation, police are examining allegations that the IAS officer may have attempted to curry favour with certain groups by playing the “Hindu card,” potentially to secure a high-profile position on central deputation.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
