Kerala Police Book Reporter TV Editor Anto Augustine Over 'Second Marriage' Documents
Thiruvananthapuram cyber police register criminal case against Reporter TV MD Anto Augustine and two unidentified persons over alleged forged documents about Kerala CM's second marriage.
The cyber wing of the Thiruvananthapuram city police has registered a criminal case against Anto Augustine, Managing Director and Editor of Reporter TV, along with two unidentified individuals. The case relates to allegations that Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan had contracted a second marriage.
The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint from Congress spokesperson Raju P Nair. The charges invoked include sections 336(4) (forgery intended to damage reputation), 337 (forgery of public records, including marriage records), 61 and 92 (criminal conspiracy), 356(3) (making defamatory material), 340(2) (using a forged document as genuine), and 339 (possession of a forged public document with intent to use it as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIR, Augustine said at a public function a few days ago that two people had approached him claiming that Satheesan had registered his second marriage in Byndoor, Karnataka, in 2012. Augustine alleged that the two individuals handed him what they claimed was a marriage certificate and the mandatory notice for registration of the marriage. The FIR states that he continued to hold the documents despite knowing they were forged, with the intention of publicly humiliating the Chief Minister.
The development comes hours after a special investigation team of the Kerala Police raided five premises, including the office of Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), which operates Reporter TV. The raids were part of a cheating case concerning the company's failure to bring the Argentina football team, led by former captain Lionel Messi, to Kochi for an international match last year. RBC was the sponsor of the proposed event.
On Tuesday, the Kochi City Police had registered an FIR against Anto Augustine and RBC on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating in connection with the alleged attempt to bring Messi to Kerala for the much-hyped match. After the Congress-led government assumed office, the Sports Department examined RBC's claim and allegedly found financial misappropriation and tax evasion under the guise of the event.