Crime Branch says terror links behind e-mail scandal

Wednesday, March 28, 2012: The Crime Branch today informed the Thiruvananthapuram Judicial Magistrate Court that terrorist links were behind the scandal regarding the surveillance of e-mail ids belonging to minority community in the State.
The Crime Branch also objected the bail petition of Biju Saleem, a sub inspector belonging to the police headquarters high-tech cell, who was arrested in connection with the controversy.
Biju, who was taken into custody by the Crime branch team, has been taken to the Poojappura central prison.Biju was earlier sacked for handing over fabricated documents from police Head quarters relating to the e-mail surveillance to Madhyamam weekly.
Madhyamam, had reported that email ids of leaders, activists, professionals, students and journalists from the minority community in Kerala were subjected to surveillance by the Special Branch of Kerala Police.
The report alleged that it was an attempt at religious profiling as out of the 268 e-mail accounts, 258 belonged to Muslims. It is said that none among them had any previous criminal backgrounds and so there was no clarity as to why they were put under surveillance.