Thiruvananthapuram: The police have concluded that it was K Gopalakrishnan, director of the Department of Industries and Commerce, who created the WhatsApp group based on religion, involving IAS officers. WhatsApp responded to the police's inquiry stating that the phone was not hacked. The police also received information that Gopalakrishnan attempted to forward screenshots of the groups to central deputation.

Although the phone was taken by the City Police, it was found to have been factory reset, with data deleted. The device has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. The City Cyber Police have recorded Gopalakrishnan's statement.

Letters have been sent to Google and the network service provider to identify which applications were used.

Last Thursday, Gopalakrishnan created the group. However, he informed the City Police Commissioner on Monday that his phone had been hacked. He also provided the same explanation to the Chief Secretary.

Initially, a group called ‘Mallu Hindu Officers’ was created. Following questions raised by a few officers, a second group named ‘Mallu Muslim Officers’ was also created.