Nedumbassery accident: Ramesh Chennithala promises ‘zero compromise’ in probe, slams alleged defamation attempts

Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has said there will be “zero compromise" on the police investigation into the Nedumbassery car crash case in which three youths were killed. The Minister reiterated the government’s stand and slammed what he termed “politically motivated” attempts to defame leaders by linking them with the case.

“As a government, we have taken all measures to ensure maximum punishment for the culprits. It is an incident in which three young people lost their lives. It can’t be taken lightly. There will be zero compromise in the investigation,” Mr. Chennithala told reporters in Alappuzha on Saturday.

He was critical of the media reports alleging political interference aimed at protecting the accused in the case.

“An accident happened, and everyday rumours are being spread about one person or another. The media should self-introspect if it’s proper or not. Some initial reports even claimed that the prime accused is a member of my Assembly constituency which is not correct,” he said.

Terms incident ‘murder’

Terming the incident a "murder", the Minister urged people not to mix politics into the case and defame others.

The Minister’s remarks come close on the heels of the Alappuzha South police registering a case against a DYFI leader and a television journalist for allegedly defaming Keralam Assembly Deputy Speaker Shanimol Osman by linking her to the investigation into the accident.

Asked about the police booking a journalist for reporting the statements made by a leader, Mr. Chennithala said he will look into the matter.

He said he was unaware of the alleged earlier accidents caused by Suhail Sajeev, the 19-year-old prime accused in the accident case. He said the investigation team would probe all angles.