Journalist K.M. Basheer’s death: Keralam CM, Chief Secretary intervened to scrap decision to appoint special public prosecutor, alleges Siraj daily director
A director of the Siraj daily has alleged that Kerala's Chief Minister and Chief Secretary intervened to block the appointment of a special public prosecutor in the 2019 death case of journalist K.M. Basheer. The Kerala High Court has stayed the trial for one month to review government files regarding the decision.
Why it matters
The case raises significant questions about political interference in the judicial process, particularly involving high-ranking government officials and an IAS officer.
A. Saifudeen Haji, director, Siraj daily, and vice-president, Kerala Muslim Jamaat, on Friday alleged that Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha had a role in scuttling the decision to appoint a special public prosecutor to take forward the trial in the case pertaining to death of journalist K.M. Basheer.
The allegation came a day after the Kerala High Court stayed the trial for one month and called for the relevant government files related to a September 17 government order rejecting Basheer’s wife Jaseela C.’s demand that a special public prosecutor be appointed.
Basheer, who headed the Siraj news bureau in Thiruvananthapuram, was killed in 2019 after his two-wheeler was rammed by a car allegedly driven by IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman.
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