The Kerala media which
diligently report developments relating to Malayalees as also others with roots
in Kerala have maintained discreet silence over a story which has been making
headlines in Chennai for a week and has been picked up by newspapers elsewhere
too.
The story is about a
Mercedes Benz running over three children at the dead of night, resulting in
the death of one of them in hospital. The incident occurred on May 23. Police allege the driver and other occupants
were drunk.
It is not clear who was at
the wheel at the time of the accident: the owner, who slipped away from the scene of the accident and is
said to be still at large or his driver. According to newspaper reports, both
of them have alleged that the police is framing them.
What has earned the
hit-and-run story big headlines is the VIP angle. The car belongs to Shaji Purushothaman,
son of M.P. Purushothaman, Chairman of the Empee’s group which owns distilleries
and hotels. M.P.Purushothaman’s daughter is married to Vayalar Ravi’s son but
he has connections across the political spectrum. When CPI-M leader Pinarayi
Vijayan was forced to break journey in Chennai while flying to New Delhi for a
Politburo meeting following the discovery of bullets in his laptop case at the airport,
it was to Purushothaman’s house that he drove to spend the night.
The Hindu is taking in this story
an interest which is uncharacteristic, presumably driven by the compulsions of
competition – this is the kind of thing the Times of India revels in – as also
the current editor’s desire to reshape the paper according to his own light.
M.P. Purushothaman, apart
from being a prominent businessman, has been associated since long with Malayalee
and Sree Narayana organizations in Chennai.
The failure of the two large
Malayalam newspapers which have bureaus in Chennai to report developments
relating to this case in their Kerala editions must be deliberate.
Between sensationalism and
suppression, there is an acceptable, professional way of handling events of
this kind.
For the benefit of those who
wish to know more, I am giving below links to stories which have appeared in
the national newspapers:
The Hindu:
Who are the Purushothamans?
Both Shaji, driver claim they have been framed in accident case
RTI activists up in arms over speeding Merc case
Mystery deepens over Egmore car accident case
A day later, boy hit by drunk car driver dies
Speeding car hits 5 at bus shelter in Egmore
Other newspapers:
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