KOCHI: The story of tobacco tycoon Mohammed Nisham from the lap of luxuries to the darkness of prison is nothing short of a thriller. His phenomenal journey from the small village of Muttichoor on the outskirts of Thrissur to the maze of money-spinning tobacco deals and illegal activities happened in record time. Nisham recently rose to the league of habitual offenders and earned the sobriquet ‘Ferrari Dad’ after he was booked in April 2013 for letting his nine-year-old son to drive his Ferrari. On January 29, 2015, at midnight he grew into a treacherous villain in the minds of people after he fatally knocked down Chandrabose, a security guard of the posh apartment complex in Thrissur where he lived. Nisham knocked down Chandrabose with his Hummer SUV for the mere reason that the latter was late to open the gate for him.
As many as 16 cases were registered against Nisham in Kerala and the neighbouring states in the last few days for various offenses, including murder, rape, murder attempt, cyber crimes and financial fraud. However, despite the cases, Nisham was not remanded in judicial custody even for a single day, until he was arrested by the police for murdering Chandrabose. “It is astonishing that he managed to escape even after harassing a woman police officer on duty by locking her inside his Rolls Royce car in 2014 after the officer stopped his vehicle during a routine vehicle inspection,” said former Thrissur City Police Commissioner R Nishanthini. When the police reached Bengaluru for checking his whereabouts and check his criminal track record, for detaining him under the Kerala Anti-social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA), they stumbled upon an incident in which Nisham inflicted injuries on a Kannada actress who lodged a rape complaint against him. The actress who narrated the sadistic torture by Nisham to the investigation officers said it was not worth sharing the details as the whole episode was full of perverted torture.
An official in the rank of City Police Commissioner said that Nisham, who is managing director of Tamil Nadu-based King Beedi Co, had an obsession for luxury vehicles. He owned a fleet of cars, including premium brands like Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Road Ranger, Ferrari and Jaguar.