Businessman fined Rs. 80 lakh too.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
A court in Kerala’s Thrissur district on Thursday sentenced tobacco business tycoon Mohammad Nisham to life imprisonment and another 24 years in jail for killing a security guard with his Hummer vehicle last year.
The 39-year billionaire, reportedly with assets worth Rs 5,000 crore, also has to pay a fine of Rs 70 lakh for murder charges, and another Rs 10.30 lakh on various other charges, of which Rs 50 lakh is to be paid to the widow of the victim, K Chandrabose.
Meanwhile, responding to the verdict, Chadrabose’s wife Jamanthi said the culprit should have been hanged.
“We did not get justice. We are not enthused to hear about the compensation ordered to be paid to us. It was not an accident. He ran the vehicle into my husband. When he tried to escape, Nisham crushed him against a concrete wall using his vehicle. We are not satisfied by the verdict,’’ she said.
The court also directed police to file a case against Nisham’s wife, Amal, for submitting a false affidavit and trying to mislead the court.
K Chandrabose, a security guard at Sobha City apartments in Thrissur, had been seriously injured after Nisham hit him forcibly with a Hummer SUV. He died in February 2015.
The 47-year-old had undergone multiple surgeries over two weeks in an effort to improve his condition but passed away at Amala Medical College in Thrissur.
Nisham, an infamously controversial tycoon who made his fortune pushing cheap “bidi” cigarettes, was arrested on January 29 last year after ramming his Hummer into Chandrabose, pinning him against a wall, and later beating him with an iron rod after the security guard could not open a gate quickly enough.
Nisham subsequently picked up the victim, and abandoned Chandrabose in a parking lot before being approached by a team of police who had been alerted by the other security staff.
The high-rolling business magnate had staved off 10 separate criminal cases in the past — including, but not limited to — allowing his then 9-year-old son to drive a Ferrari through a crowded neighborhood, harassing several female law enforcement officers, and domestic abuse charges filed by his wife.