The police have been directed to charge Nair with offences under sections 67, 67 (A) of the IT Act which could result in at least five years of imprisonment.

Initially the police only charged him with section 354A (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty).The Hi-tech cell SP ES Bijumon instructed the police based on the orders of State Police Chief Loknath Behera.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had made it clear that strict action will be taken against perpetrators who use social media platform to hurl verbal abuses against women. Health Minister KK Shailaja also said that stringent action will be taken against the offenders.

Earlier, the police had registered weak and bailable charges against Vijay P Nair and non-bailable offences against Bhagyalakshmii and other two activists, which led to widespread criticism.

The police have also begun a probe into the You Tuber’s doctorate degree secured from a university not recognised by UGC.

The police had earlier charged dubbing artist Bhagyalakshmi, activist Diya Sana and Sreelakshmi Arackal Vijay with non-bailable offences, after they accused Vijay of making sleazy remarks against women on social media. They are also charged with robbery as they seized Nair’s laptop and hard disk for producing it as proof before the police.

The incident went viral on social media after Diya Sana, who rose to fame through the reality show Bigg Boss, shot the incident on her mobile phone and posted it live on Facebook that took place in a lodge room where Vijay P Nair was staying.

They confronted Nair for putting out a derogatory video on feminists is Kerala. The video went on to target a number of women, starting with veteran poet and activist Sugathakumari, who is 86 years old now. In the video, he said highly abusive and defamatory things about many prominent women.

Activist Sreelakshmi Arackal had earlier approached the Kerala Women’s Commission, the Cyber Cell, as well as the Social Justice Department, seeking action against him. However, no action has been taken by any of the officials so far.

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The arrested persons were Uttar Pradesh natives Shahid 24,of Hanupura, Farhad Khan, 29, Nangar in Rampur city and Haneefa, 28, of Nangar.

Three others are absconding and suspected to have left the state. Police have intensified search for others, also natives of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, the girl was abused several times during the lockdown period, from April. The culprits assaulted the girl at her home during day time when her parents were away. Besides, the accused had exploited her at their rented premises. She was then threatened and taken to various other places.

The Eloor police registered a case after the girl’s family filed a complaint. The probe was led by the assistant police commissioner.

The incident was exposed during a counselling session the girl had undergone at her school, where teachers noticed changes in her behaviour.

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The State is valiantly fighting a community spread – it has no qualms in admitting that we have reached that stage – of COVID-19 and leaves no stone unturned to return to the near-zero levels it had reached – winning international praise – before stranded Indians across the world, but mainly expatriates from the Gulf region, began trooping back to the verdant land they held close to their heart as they toiled in the desert heat.

No more can we witness excited relatives coming to pick up the NRI from airport; a COVID special airport taxi ferries the passenger home. The airport formalities are systematic and quick in Kerala. Instructions were given on the 14-day home quarantine, which brother now spends on the first floor of the house in isolation. The rest of the family has gone into quarantine too, with a COVID alert notice promptly pasted on the gate by the local government staff.

Save for getting his first name wrong, the rest of the protocols are perfect. Courteous cops from the nearest police station enquire on him daily either over the phone or in person – keeping tab on international arrivals has become necessary as some citizens like to play truant and explore the world outside. It also shows the new face of Kerala Police – friendly and approachable, or jana maitree, as they have rebranded themselves. They don’t mind if they look a bit silly dancing to Nanchamma’s “Kalakkatha sandana meram” if it can get the message of handwashing and hygiene across to the State’s people. Some day we will thank coronavirus for improving our sense of hygiene and for bringing certain English words – quarantine, pandemic, lockdown, clusters etc – into local parlance.

Books have been sent from the local library for the quarantined visitor. Ayurvedic pills to boost immunity also arrive. In this case, district administration Pathanamthitta is effectively micro-managing the physical and mental health of each person under observation.

After a week in quarantine, he gets a nasal swab done at the nearest hospital beating serpentine queues. Anyone who has come in contact with a COVID-positive person has to take the test apart from international arrivals like him.

Another friend who drove down to Kochi from Chennai is also going through a 14-day quarantine to be followed by 14 days under observation. He too gets regular calls and visits from the police and health department staff including the mental health counsellor, who even asks how they are managing and how they get provisions. Police have been known to fetch provisions for the elderly and the invalid.

Apparently, the police are able to concentrate their energies on the COVID fight because accidents and crime have come down during the pandemic. The former because there are fewer vehicles on the roads due to lockdown and containment zones; intense patrolling and virus transmission fears have probably led to a decline in petty thefts while murders, suicides and unnatural deaths have also gone down, according to police officers.

Containment zones, clusters and triple lockdowns have been clamped to bring down Kerala’s COVID cases that have been surging since the beginning of repatriation flights and resumption of inter-State movement. A brave administration and its frontline warriors continue to micro-manage the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and prove why Kerala’s health standards are on a par with that of developed nations.

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