Profile of a Kerala killer

Thiruvananthapuram: As far as overt displays of wealth goes, few could match the flamboyance of Mohammad Nisham, the 40-year-old business tycoon from Kerala who loved a fast cars, enjoyed life in the fast lane and cared two hoots for the law.

Nisham first shot into the limelight for the wrong reasons when a video of his nine-year-old son driving a Ferrari was posted on the internet.

He was known for trying to make his money do the talking, but when the video was uploaded, police were forced into taking action.

He also had several other cases against him, making him a history-sheeter, in Indian police parlance.

From what police gathered during the investigation, Bengaluru was one of Nisham’s favourite spots, where he revelled with friends, and lavished money on living a life of luxury. Local media reported that Nisham would surprise the odd security guard with a Rs1,000 (Dh54)-tip and also beat up his buddies and then shower them with money for taking those blows.

One estimate put the value of his large fleet of expensive cars including a Ferrari and Lamborghini at about Rs700 million. And police believe the shoes that he wore on the day he fatally attacked Chandrabose, and with which he stomped on his victim, were made of snakeskin and valued at Rs500,000.

Nisham is known to have made his money from the beedi (rolled local cigarettes) business, but few believe that so much wealth could have been accumulated only from such a venture.

Whatever the source of Nisham’s wealth, what was unmistakable was that it was splurged on pleasure. That lifestyle and his very life were to take an abrupt deviation on the night of January 29, 2015 when Chandrabose apparently fumbled in opening the gate, leading to Nisham’s assault, which took the guard’s life.

Just under a year from that day the verdict has come, which is hardly any consolation for Chandrabose’s family, but one that takes Nisham away from a life of fast cars to life behind bars.