Kerala Police Detain Wayanad Native For  Cyber Attack On College Girl Who Sold Fish For Living

Kerala police have arrested a person from Wayanad for launching a cyber attack on a college girl who sold fish at Thammanam near Kochi after her class hours to support her mentally-ill mother and brother.

Malayalam daily Manorama had carried a report earlier this week on the student Hanan Hamid, whose family had shifted to Thammanam from Thrissur, selling fish. On Facebook, some people made derogatory remarks against the girl, leading to Union Minister for Tourism Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam coming to her support. The minister criticised the people who trolled Hamid on Facebook post. Some of the trolls had questioned Hamid on why she was not covering her face or wearing a “burqa”.

Hamid’s parents are separated. She moved to Thammanam as she suffered from hearing problems and is currently being treated at Kothamangalam.

Meanwhile, a person from Wayanad Noorudheen Sheikh went to Thammanam where Hanan was selling fish and went live on Facebook, trolling and defaming Hamid. He claimed her story to be a fake one and uploaded it on Youtube. He later came up with another posting saying he was misled by another person.

However, the issue turned serious after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered Director General of Police Loknath Behera to take action against the trolls. Following this, Sheikh was taken in for questioning and he has been booked under a non-bailable offence under the IT Act, Manorama reported. Kerala police have said that cases are likely to be filed against other trolls too.

Hamid has been offered a lead role in a Malayalam film, while others, including various organisations have come forward to help her. However, she has refused to accept the offers for help saying she would prefer to earn her living.