Dubai police has arrested an Indian citizen for engaging in an ill-motivated social media campaign against Malabar Gold & Diamonds using forged images. The arrested person is identified as Bineesh Ponankal Arumoghan, an ex-employee of the company, hailing from Thrissur in Kerala.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds had filed a complaint with Dubai Police regarding a forged image of a cake cutting ceremony on the day of Pakistan Independence Day being circulated in social media. KshethraBhumi SamrakshanaVedhi Bharat also known as KBSV Bharat, an organization based in Kerala filed a criminal complaint against the jewelry brand for ‘sedition and anti-national acts. The jewelry brand in an official statement clarified that the image has no participation of either its management team nor is it anyway related to it.
The cyber wing of the Dubai Police uncovered that it was Bineesh who first shared the forged image through Facebook in Dubai. In an official communication sent to the Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Dubai Police confirmed that the arrested person has confessed that he manipulated the images to damage the brand Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Bineesh posted the image and urged public to boycott Malabar Gold & Diamonds which resulted in major negative campaigns against the brand.
“The photograph spread across social media platforms in which a few people celebrating Pak independence by cutting a cake engraved with Pakistan’s national flag doesn’t belong to Malabar Gold & Diamonds at all. This is taken from a celebration held at a money exchange company in Middle East and their logo is clearly visible in the background of the image as well,” the company said in a official press release.
Many companies are facing problems in India in recent times. Earlier, when the JNU controversy was at its peak, someone has posted that Ratan Tata has said that Tatas won’t give employment to such students. Later, the Tata group clarified that no such comments have even be made by Ratan Tata. Malabar Gold & Diamonds is going ahead with similar legal actions in India as well against those who circulated defamatory news against the brand using manipulated images.