A police sub-inspector was arrested in connection with a controversial media report that the state police had hacked emails of a cross-section of Muslims. Biju Salim,attached to the high-tech cell of Kerala Police,had been under suspension since January last week after a departmental probe revealed that he had leaked the issue to Jamaat-e-Islami weekly Madhyamam with forged documents. He had been charged with criminal breach of trust by a public servant,forgery,conspiracy,misuse of public office and violation of Official Secrets Act. A court remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks. The Madhyamam report said the state intelligence department had last November asked the police high-tech cell to identify the users of 268 email IDs of which 258 were of Muslims suspected to have links with the banned outfit,SIMI. The report had triggered protests by Muslim organisations. Police sources said Salims alleged links with right-wing Muslim organisations was under probe. He had forged the letter and the list of the email IDs and sent it to the media. To give an appearance of credibility,the signature of an intelligence officer was also forged.
