Malayalam digital outfit Karma News – which is known to propagate a curious mix of rightwing Christian and Hindutva propaganda – is facing multiple charges of extortion and blackmail. In at least three police complaints filed in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram since May 2022, the portal’s Kerala-based chief PR Somdev and Australia-based managing director Vince Mathew, along with its reporters, have been accused of extortion and blackmail.
The complaints came to light after one of its former employees and co-accused in a case, Easwaran Potti alleged that it was the firm’s modus operandi to extort money from individuals and businesses by threatening to publish incriminating news reports related to them.
