Even in jail as a murder convict, beedi tycoon Nisham is a powerful man

His brothers complained that Nisham was “running his business empire from prison.”

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Exactly nine months ago, Thrissur-based businessman and beedi tycoon Muhammed Nisham was found guilty of murdering security guard Chandrabose. The security guard worked at a luxury apartment complex in Thrissur where Nisham owned a house.

In January 2015, Nisham’s Hummer ran over Chandrabose, who failed to open the gates to the apartment. Nisham then repeatedly hit Chandrabose.

The case had invited much outrage from the public, for the sheer number of twists and turns, before a Thrissur court sentenced Nisham to life imprisonment.

In what was seen as a David vs Goliath battle, Chandrabose’s wife Jamanthi was served justice after a battle of nearly a year, despite threats from various quarters and bribes being offered.

But 40-year-old Nisham, who is now serving life sentence in Kannur central jail, remains to be a powerful man.

On Saturday, his brother filed a police complaint saying that Nisham had threatened him and two of his brothers via phone call and that he was “running his business empire from prison.”

Nisham’s brother Abdul Razak said in his complaint that Nisham also threatened to chop off his arms and legs, when he visited Nisham in prison. He also alleged that Nisham had bribed the officers in prison in order to lead a life of luxury.

However, after controversy erupted over the issue, Nisham’s brothers reportedly approached the police seeking to withdraw their complaint on Monday.

After the Chief Minister ordered enquiry into the alleged security breach in prison, nine police officers were suspended on Monday for helping Nisham make phone calls while he was being taken to Bengaluru for questioning.

In 2015 too, while the case was underway, five policemen got suspended on August 5 for helping Nisham meet his relatives at a luxury restaurant in Thrissur.

On Wednesday, when the opposition alleged that there had been security breach in prison, Pinarayi Vijayan emphasized that it were not so.

“It has been proved that Nisham used mobile phone while he was being taken to Bengaluru and not while he was in prison. This means the security in prison has not been compromised,” the CM said.

On Tuesday, a relative and Nisham's business partner Basheer Ali also filed a police complaint saying that Nisham had threatened to kill him, when he had visited the former in prison.

Nisham took up management of the beedi company after his father's death and amassed his wealth through real estate. He has been a habitual offender, with the Supreme Court observing in 2015, that Nisham was a person who had little regard for the lives of others.