Changanassery: People close to Asokan S Nair would hardly believe that the amiable cook was once a dreaded criminal in Changanassery. The expatriate worker in a labour camp at Muhaisnah in Dubai is known for his kind words and his tasty cooking.
Nair came to Dubai to work after serving a 22-year prison sentence for killing a policeman. He wants to return to Kerala to ask for forgiveness from the cop's family.
Life has not been kind to Nair, who was orphaned as a boy. His parents left behind a famished island near Alappuzha in search of better prospects in Changanassery. The family had a promising start but Nair's father Sreedharan Pillai took to drinking and drugs.
Nair was an eight-standard student at the NSS High School in Changanassery when he found himself abandoned. One day, he returned from school to find his house and the adjacent tea shop run by his father closed. Neighbours had no clue. He slept by the roadside and went back to school the next morning on an empty stomach. He hoped that his parents would return in the evening. They did not.
He was told that his parents had fled to evade their creditors. He begged for food but the shopkeepers shooed him away. Blinded by hunger, the boy stole a banana from a fruit shop. He was caught and promptly handed over to the police. The cops were cruel to him, he said. They even stuck pins on his thumb, he said. He was remanded to the sub jail and eventually housed in a juvenile correction centre.
Nair was exposed to the big bad world inside the juvenile home. He met other boys who had been involved in theft and mugging and he learned their tricks. By the time he was released, he had found his calling.
He started out with petty thefts and soon graduated to a goon for hire. He was recruited by a notorious gang in Changanassery. He was assured of a steady supply of money and booze. Luxury was at his doorstep. The lonely man found himself in the company of fellow gangsters.
As the gang leaders fell to rivals' knives, Nair rose up the ranks. He found a place on the police list of 'known depredators or delinquents (KD)'.
Nair was serving a jail term when his gang was targeted by their rivals. One of them was hacked in the town in 1995. The gang leader, Abi, was hacked to death in 2001 when he was being produced before a court. Nair was released to a world of opportunities. He rose in the ranks in the underbelly of the town.
The illusion of security was shattered in August 1994 when Nair was visited by two cops who wanted him to go with them to the police station. The new officer in charge wanted to have a word with the people on the 'KD' list.
Nair found something amiss. He refused to go with the cops. They came to blows and the gangster stabbed a cop in the chest and the other in the ankle. He ran for his life, with an injured cop in hot pursuit. The cop, however, was bleeding profusely from the cut vein on his ankle. He collapsed on the road and died.
The fugitive did not know of the policeman's death until he reached Poothotta. He returned to Changanassery, only to be met with policemen in plainclothes ready to take him into custody. He resisted the arrest, trying to convince the people that he was being attacked by goons. He was arrested later.
The situation became grim when he was taken to the police station. The cops were vengeful, Nair said. They subjected him to all sorts of tortures. In the court, the public prosecutor presented him as a dangerous criminal, citing his antecedents as a juvenile delinquent. Though the prosecution argued for capital punishment for the convict, the court sentenced him to life considering his young age.
He was to face more torture as a convict in the Thiruvananthapuram central jail.
Wisdom eventually dawned on the gangster. He was exposed to various religious texts. He realised that men were born for nobler deeds. He began to spread the word.
His parole applications were rejected because the police officers refused to put in a good word about him. He found refuge in praying. He studied in the jail and appeared for the SSLC exam in 2001 and passed it.
He had got married in 1987 to a woman who had no idea what she was getting into. Though her family later persuaded her to divorce Nair, she decided to put up with him for the sake of their children. While Nair was in jail, his wife survived as a domestic servant and their children were sent to an orphanage.
He was granted parole in 2008. He was greeted by his wife and children. He decided to make up for his past life by preaching virtue across Kerala.
A well-wisher, Philip Kuttikkandathil, later found a job for Nair in Dubai. He flew abroad to work as a cook in a labour camp. He works hard and sends money to his wife back home every month.
Nair, however, is far from being contended. The memories of the policeman who died because of him still haunt him. He wants to visit the family of the cop, Thomas, at Pampadi near Kottayam.
He also wants to visit the other cops, Philipose, at Karukachal and say sorry for all the pain he had caused.
Meanwhile, he toils in the community kitchen to feed the labourers.
