Kerala businessman found guilty of murdering guard

The Thrissur Additional Sessions Court on Wednesday found controversial businessman Mohammed Nisham guilty of having murdered Chandrabose — a security guard at the residential complex in Thrissur where Nisham resided in — a year after the incident.

 Additional Sessions judge K P Sudheer will pronounce the sentence on Thursday.
Nisham was found guilty on counts including murder and armed assault. Special Public Prosecutor C P Udayabhanu told reporters that the prosecution had requested the court to consider it as “the rarest of rare” case. The prosecution has sought maximum punishment for Nisham.

Chandrabose’s mother Ambujakshi and wife Jamanthi said Nisham should be handed out the maximum punishment.

Wednesday’s verdict marks the end of a 79-day trial which followed an investigation with its own share of controversies over charges that attempts were made to influence the probe.

The court had commenced hearing final arguments on the case on January 6.  The Supreme Court had directed the court to pronounce its verdict by January 31.

The apex court, while rejecting Nisham’s bail plea in October last year, had also made scathing remarks on the “megalomania” of the rich. 

Nisham had run his SUV — a Hummer — over Chandrabose on January 29 last year following an argument over a delay in opening a gate at the residential township he lived in.
According to prosecution, Nisham tried to run the SUV over the 50-year-old security guard, pinned him against a wall and assaulted him with an iron rod.

The guard, who sustained serious injuries, died at a private hospital 18 days after the incident. The job offered to Chandrabose’s wife Jamanthi by the state government is yet to materialise.

In March, the Kerala government had slapped provisions under the Kerala Anti-social Activists (Prevention) Act on Nisham, one of the proprietors of the Tamil Nadu-based King Beedi Company. The police, however, had also come under the scanner after charges over its failure to record Chandrabose’s statement at the hospital. There were also charges that Nisham enjoyed special treatment during different stages of the investigation, also leading to political charges.

Nisham is no stranger to controversy. In April 2013, he was booked under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act for letting his son — aged nine at the time — drive his Ferrari.
Two months later, he was arrested for misbehaving with a policewoman who was part of a team which intercepted his Rolls Royce for a check.