Thiruvananthapuram: Acting on a directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Kerala Police Cyber Cell has initiated action against major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and X. The move aims to purge a retracted ECI document that inadvertently featured a Kerala BJP unit seal, which continues to circulate online despite official clarifications.

The controversy stems from an administrative "clerical error" where a 2019 directive regarding candidates' criminal records was redistributed with a political party’s stamp. While the ECI promptly withdrew the document and issued a correction, the image has since gone viral, prompting the poll body to intervene to prevent the spread of misinformation ahead of the April 9 Assembly elections.

Digital crackdown on withdrawn content

Cyber Cell confirmed that formal notices were sent to the platforms under the IT Act. According to police data, the retracted letter was identified on 270 X handles, 200 Facebook pages, and 90 Instagram accounts.

Several users on X reported receiving notifications from the platform regarding the takedown requests. The police cautioned that continued circulation of the erroneous document could be viewed as an attempt to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

Administrative fallout and political row

The incident has already led to major administrative consequences. On Monday, an Assistant Section Officer in the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office was placed under suspension pending an inquiry into how the document with the BJP seal was cleared for distribution.

The "seal swap" has triggered a fierce political debate in Kerala. The CPM and Congress have both questioned the neutrality of the poll body, with the Left leadership alleging a "casual swapping" of identities between the ECI and the BJP. Conversely, the CEO’s office maintains that the error occurred because the BJP had submitted a photocopy of the guidelines for clarification, which was then mistakenly circulated by staff who failed to notice the party symbol.