Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A controversy over an alleged second marriage of Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan has now turned into a police case, with the state police registering an FIR against Reporter TV Managing Director Anto Augustine and two others on Wednesday.
The case follows a complaint by KPCC spokesperson Raju P Nair, who claimed that purported documents concerning Satheesan’s marriage were fabricated and were part of a conspiracy to defame the Chief Minister and undermine the state government.
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Augustine has been named as the first accused in the FIR, while two others have been listed as unidentified accused.
The controversy began after Augustine said that two people had approached him at his office claiming to have records showing that Satheesan had reportedly registered a marriage in Karnataka in 2012, when he was already married.
Augustine said the documents were subsequently found to be fabricated and that his organisation therefore did not publish the claim. He also said he continued to have the documents in his possession.
Nair, in his complaint, said that the episode was part of a wider conspiracy to tarnish Satheesan’s reputation. He sought an investigation into the matter and the seizure of the purported documents.
Based on the complaint, police registered the case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to forgery, criminal conspiracy, possession of forged documents and publication of defamatory material.
The FIR was registered on the directions of Kerala DGP following Nair’s complaint.
On the same day, Reporter TV and its promoters faced a separate police action as a Special Investigation Team searched the channel’s Kochi headquarters and premises linked to its promoters at five locations in Kochi and Wayanad.
The searches, conducted under court-issued warrants, were part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the failed attempt to bring Lionel Messi and the Argentina football team to Kerala.
Reporter TV said that police entered its newsroom and took away mobile phones used by journalists and other employees, disrupting its operations.
Police denied the claims, saying no phones were seized and that the searches were aimed at collecting documents linked to the investigation.
The searches triggered a political row, with the Opposition accusing the government of targeting media freedom.
Chief Minister Satheesan, however, defended the searches, saying they were part of a legally conducted investigation and that the government would not interfere in the probe.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
