Journalist K.M. Basheer’s death: Keralam CM, Chief Secretary intervened to scrap decision to appoint special public prosecutor, alleges Siraj daily director
A Sept. 17 govt. order had rejected Basheer’s wife Jaseela C.’s demand that a special public prosecutor be appointed. Recently, the HC stayed the trial for a month and called for government files related to the govt. order
K.M. Basheer, a journalist who headed the Siraj news bureau in Thiruvananthapuram, was tragically killed in 2019 when his two-wheeler was struck by a car allegedly driven by IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman. His wife, Jaseela C., had demanded in September 2019 that a special public prosecutor be appointed to advance the trial of her husband's death. The Kerala High Court stayed the trial for one month in August, giving the government time to finalize necessary procedures.
However, the government decided against appointing a special public prosecutor, according to A. Saifudeen Haji, director of Siraj daily and vice-president of the Kerala Muslim Jamaat. Saifudeen alleged that Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha played a role in overturning the decision to appoint a special prosecutor.
The government had informed the High Court that it intended to appoint A. Santhosh Kumar as the special prosecutor in principle, but ultimately rejected Jaseela's demand in a September 17 order. The government stated that her representations failed to point out any specific shortcomings in the current public prosecutor.
Saifudeen claimed that home minister Ramesh Chennithala had wholeheartedly supported Jaseela's request, but the government proceeded to reject it. He described the situation as an attempt by certain parties to delay the trial needlessly and close the case involving an IAS officer, stating that the case was already seven years old at the time.
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