Kerala Police have registered a case against R.V. Babu, president of the Hindutva organization Hindu Aikya Vedi, over remarks he posted on Facebook that linked the Muslim community to drug trafficking and terrorism. The Thrikkakara Police in Kochi filed the case after receiving a complaint about the post.
The controversy began after Kerala’s Home Minister, Ramesh Chennithala, asked Samastha leader Jifri Muthukoya Thangal for support in the state’s anti-drug program, called Operation Toofan. In response, Babu wrote a Facebook post claiming that community leaders from Samastha, an organization linked to Muslim religious scholars, should take more responsibility in fighting drugs than other community leaders. He alleged that a majority of people involved in selling and smuggling narcotics in the state belonged to that community. Babu went further, suggesting that nothing happens in the state, whether drug trafficking or terrorism, without the knowledge of what he called “our people,” using a derogatory slang term that is understood to refer to Muslims.
The remarks led to a formal complaint from Ashraf Vazhakkala, a leader of the People’s Democratic Party. He accused Babu of making false and baseless claims that defamed the Muslim community and its leaders, and argued that the post could stir up communal tension.
Acting on the complaint, police booked Babu under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s criminal code, as well as under the Kerala Police Act. The charges relate to allegedly promoting hostility between different community groups, hurting religious sentiments, spreading false information, and causing public nuisance. Police said Babu will be called in for questioning as the investigation moves forward.
Hindu Aikya Vedi, the organization Babu leads, is associated with the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This is not the first time Babu has faced accusations of making Islamophobic statements; he has been at the center of similar controversies in the past.
The case adds to a string of recent incidents in India involving public figures accused of making communal or discriminatory remarks, several of which have led to police complaints and formal charges under hate speech and public order laws.
