A district session’s court in Thrissur rejected the bail plea of rich businessman Muhammed Nissam accused of killing a security guard by ramming his Hummer into him and beating him up, The Indian Express reported.
The court observed that Nissam, an influential businessman who had several cases against him, was likely to influence or intimidate the witnesses, the report said.
A case was registered suo motu by the Upa Lokayukta in Thrissur also against the investigating officer for failing to record the statement of security guard Chandrabose.
Beedi tycoon Nissam was so enraged at his security guard for a delay in opening the outer gate of his apartment that he charged at him with the Hummer he was driving and pinned him against a wall. Nissam then got out of his car and beat him with an iron rod repeatedly. A month after the brutal incident, Chandrabose, the guard, has succumbed to his injuries.
The incident happened in Thrissur in the last week of January and Nissam, owner of the Kings group beedi brand, is in police custody. He was charged with 'attempt to murder' and will now be charged with murder after the death of the hapless guard.
The Indian Express reported that he was put on ventilator support.
At 2:30 AM, a drunk Nissam got furious after the guard hesitated in letting him in. A report in the Telegraph quoted sources as saying that the businessman was involved in over a dozen cases and "had managed to work out compromises in most of them". He had been earlier arrested for locking up a woman cop, who had stopped his car to check for drunken driving, inside his Rolls Royce Ghost.
Nissam, a prominent tobacco supplier, also has interests in hotels and jewellery businesses in the Middle East and owns several luxury cars including Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Range Rover, Ferrari and Jaguar, according to the report.
Nissam was in the news in April 2013 for allegedly allowing his then 9-year-old son to drive a Ferrari in their residential complex in Thrissur, leading to a police case, the Express report said.
At that time Nissam was booked under the Juvenile Justice Act and Motor Vehicles act for letting his minor son take his Rs 2.75 crore-Ferrari F 430 for a joyride and endangering the lives of others. The video went viral on social media and there was a widespread call for action against the business baron.