Thiruvananthapuram: Police in Kerala are investigating the origins of a hoax news article on social media that announced the “death” of popular Malayalam film actor and comedian, Jagathy Sreekumar.
The article carried a fake logo of a popular Malayalam television channel.
The hoax message said Sreekumar had succumbed to a heart attack and that his final rites would be held on Saturday.
The cyber department of police has registered a case and is investigating. The article was mostly shared by WhatsApp users, who spread the news on social media.
Sreekumar has been recuperating after a horrific car accident in 2012 at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district. The accident happened at the peak of his career, and in an out-of-court settlement last year, the insurance company agreed to pay him an accident compensation of Rs59 million (Dh3.24 million). His car had hit the median on the road, seriously injuring the actor.
Police initiated the action after the Manorama News television channel and Sreekumar’s son, Rajkumar, made formal complaints about the falsehoods being spread online.
Rajkumar was reported as saying that his father, too, had heard of the news from family members and that he was “hurt”.
Sreekumar’s daughter, Sreelakshmi commented on social media that she was shocked to see the article and wondered why people resort to such mischief.
“Instead, they should be praying for my father”, she wrote.
The hoax post started spreading on social media from Friday evening.
Statistics show that cybercrime incidents are on the rise in Kerala, with 1,800 cases having been filed in 2015-16, as against 1,558 cases during 2014-15.
