Jailed Kerala beedi king runs his business from behind bars

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The relatives of Mohammed Nisham, the millionaire beedi tycoon who is serving a double life term for killing his security guard with his luxury SUV, have filed a complaint with the police, alleging that he is running his business from jail and regularly sending death threats to his brothers.

The tycoon’s brothers have handed over an audio clip of his conversation from jail that proves he has easy access to a mobile phone behind bars. Later, a Malayalam TV channel also aired a conversation between Nisham and the correspondent who managed to get the businessman’s phone number.

The embarrassed state government has ordered a probe. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked the jail DGP to submit a report. Earlier, there were allegations that Nisham was leading a luxurious life in jail. When he was taken to Bengaluru once as part of the trial, his sleeper class train ticket was upgraded to AC. On another occasion, he was seen treating his police escorts to a lavish spread.

Nisham had assaulted his security guard when he delayed opening the gates of his apartment complex in January 2015. When the guard tried to escape, he chased him in his SUV — a Hummer — and crushed him against the wall. The guard succumbed to his injuries after three weeks. The incident had attracted nationwide attention, and the judiciary also joined hands with the executive to fast-track the case.

While hearing a related plea, the Supreme Court had directed the fast-track court to deliver a verdict in a year. Nisham was sentenced to double life term in January last year. He approached the Kerala high court six times and the Supreme Court four times with different petitions to delay the trial.