Caught in a family spat

Kishore, correspondent of Thamizhaga Arasiyal, a political biweekly in Tamil Nadu, could not have expected how deeply he would get into trouble when he wrote a political story in June 2008 about J. K. Rithish (a DMK MP from Ramanathapuram), then a DMK functionary. The story involved a tussle between him and his brother-in-law Rathinam, who was the DMK Town Secretary of Ramanathapuram. Infuriated by the story, Rathinam called up Kishore to reveal the name of the source. But Kishore refused to oblige. Rathinam then visited him personally and threatened him of dire consequences. But Kishore informed his office about this and his magazine again carried a news story about Rathinam’s threat.

But within a few days, Kishore was abducted from the market of Ramanathapuram in broad daylight and was beaten up by Rathinam’s goons. For two hours he was tortured mercilessly. Luckily, Kishore’s friends informed the police about his abduction and it was through the timely intervention of the concerned superintendent of police that he was saved. Meanwhile, Rathinam’s men gave him a new dress and burnt the blood stained clothes. He was dropped at the Ramanathapuram bus stand with a strict warning not to report this incident to anyone. “I went straight to the police station and filed a complaint in the presence of higher officials. It was a big news in the media. Rathinam was suspended from DMK for a brief period, only to be reinstated. He had a difference of opinion with Rithish later and hence he joined the AIADMK to safeguard himself,” Kishore told Governance Watch.

Kishore continues to work in Ramanathapuram district in the same magazine.