The youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League has sought the registration of cases against BJP leaders who had made provocative social media posts after fake news broke about a soldier being attacked by the banned Muslim organisation Popular Front of India.

Army man Shine Kumar, 35, and his friend Joshi had falsely claimed that PFI members had attacked Kumar in Kollam district and painted “PFI” on his back. As local and national media widely covered the alleged incident, several BJP leaders cited it to label Kerala a safe haven for Islamic radicals.

However, grilled by the police, Kumar and Joshi allegedly confessed to having fabricated the story to earn the soldier a better posting. Both were arrested on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the state general secretary of the Muslim Youth League, P.K. Firos, sent a written complaint to the Kerala director-general of police seeking action against those who tried to “foment communal tension” over the matter.

Firos named BJP leader Anil K. Antony, party cyber warrior Pratheesh Vishwanath, the pro-BJP channel Janam TV and the online portal Karma News.

“We request you to book cases against all those who jumped to conclusions and took to social media... even before the facts were available, with the sole intention of fomenting communal tension,” he wrote.

BJP leader Anil, son of Congress veteran A.K. Antony, had on Monday written a post on X, saying: “A serving jawan was assaulted, his hands tied up, and PFI was painted on his back by anti social (sic) miscreants in Kollam, Kerala yesterday.

“Saddened and shocked that even our armed forces personnel who we owe much for their bravery and sacrifices find no safety in Kerala.” Anil alleged that under CPM rule, Kerala “is becoming a dangerous radical Islamist hotspot…”