Religion-based WhatsApp group: Google disproves Kerala Industry Dept director's phone hacking claim

Thiruvananthapuram: In the case concerning a religion-based WhatsApp group, Industry and Commerce Director K Gopalakrishnan finds himself in trouble with Google informing the police that no applications were installed on his phone from sources other than the Play Store, as against his claim of his phone being hacked. The Internet service provider also confirmed that the phone has not been remotely accessed. 

This development weakens Gopalakrishnan's claim that the WhatsApp group was created by hacking his phone. Following the formation of the ‘Mallu Hindu Officers Group’, a ‘Mallu Muslim Officers’ group was also created.

Some members of the initial group called him to convey the seriousness of the matter. Following that, he sent a message to IAS officers stating that his phone had been hacked and that 11 WhatsApp groups had been created without his knowledge. He then proceeded to delete the group.

It was after this incident that the ‘Mallu Muslim Officers’ group was created. It’s believed that the second group was started in an attempt to substantiate his previous claim. 

The police also learned that a screenshot of the first group was sent to a central official. There are suspicions that this was done for personal gain. Notably, Gopalakrishnan only filed a complaint with the police regarding his phone being hacked two days after the incident took place.