Forged marriage documents of CM Satheesan: Reporter TV’s Anto Augustine, two others booked

Thiruvananthapuram: The Cyber Crime Police in Thiruvananthapuram have registered a case against Anto Augustine, authorised signatory of Reporter Broadcasting Private Limited (RBC), and two unidentified men for allegedly defaming Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan and conspiring to possess a forged marriage certificate purportedly belonging to him.

The case relates to an incident that happened on September 10, when Anto was addressing an event in Pathanamthitta.

According to the FIR, the two other accused approached Anto during the programme and claimed to have news worth crores of rupees. They allegedly handed him copies of a marriage registration certificate and a statutory notice purportedly issued by a Sub-Registrar’s Office in Karnataka. The documents allegedly claimed that Satheesan had registered a second marriage at Byndoor in Karnataka on October 17, 2012, while his existing marriage was still legally valid.

The FIR alleges that the accused knew the documents were forged but conspired to keep them in their possession to publicly defame the Chief Minister.

The case was registered based on a complaint submitted by Congress leader Raju P Nair to the DGP. The accused have been booked under Sections 336(4), 337, 61(2), 356(3), 340(2) and 339 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to offences including forgery, criminal conspiracy, defamation and possession or use of forged documents.

Nair alleged that the incident was an attempt to defame the Chief Minister and destabilise the elected government. He also sought examination of CCTV footage to identify the two men who allegedly approached Anto.

Following the DGP’s direction, City Police Commissioner Arul B Krishna forwarded the complaint to the Assistant Commissioner of City Cyber Police and directed that a case be registered. Police said they were trying to identify the two men.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Kalamassery police registered another case against Anto Augustine, RBC and others on charges including cheating and criminal conspiracy in connection with an agreement with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and arrangements involving the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor.

The Special Investigation Team also searched RBC offices and the residences of its owners on Wednesday in connection with the case.