KOCHI: The Ernakulam Additional District and Sessions Court was able to bust the claim of Ashafak Alam that he does not know Malayalam. Following his assertion, the court had appointed a translator to record his submissions during the trial.
Special public prosecutor G Mohanraj said the court realised that Alam misled it after a report was filed by the district probationary officer about his background. He said Alam spoke in Malayalam only with whom he was comfortable. During the trial he replied in Hindi. “The court learnt that he spoke Malayalam from the report of the district probationary officer, who communicated with him in the language,” he said.
To confirm, the court asked one of its staff members to communicate with Alam offhandedly. When Alam was brought to court on Thursday, the staffer asked him about his whereabouts. He replied in Malayalam. Later, Judge K Soman announced in open court that Alam knows the language well. The report said Alam dropped out of school after fourth grade. He left his native place at age 18 after a quarrel with his father.