Published Sep 16, 2026 | 8:25 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 16, 2026 | 8:31 PM
The Thiruvananthapuram City police have registered a case against Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC) that owns the prominent Malayalam news channel Reporter TV, over accusations made by him about Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s personal life.
The case stems from allegations made by Augustine while speaking at a public programme on September 11.
Augustine alleged that two people had approached him, claiming they had “information worth crores”.
“They showed me a few documents. I was shocked, and so were my colleagues. It was about the chief minister,” Augustine said before proceedings to make claims about Satheesan’s personal life. Incidentally, he later clarified that neither the claims nor the documents could be verified or had evidentiary support.
Augustine claimed that when he inquired through reporters at the registrar’s office, where the records related to Satheesan’s personal life were said to have been registered, officials could not find any such documents. The absence of the supposed documents suggested that the information may have been false.
However, his remarks triggered a major controversy in the state, particularly in the context of separate cases involving Augustine, including a probe into alleged financial irregularities surrounding a proposed event featuring Argentine football legend Lionel Messi.
Also Read: Mamkootathil to Messi: The tangled politics behind the Keralam Police raid on Reporter TV
The latest case against Augustine was registered at the Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Crime Police Station based on a complaint filed by senior Congress leader Raju P. Nair. The case was registered on the direction of DGP Ravada Azad Chandrasekhar.
The complaint alleged that Augustine’s statements were part of a wider political conspiracy involving forged or fabricated material aimed at damaging the chief minister’s reputation and destabilising the government.
“There is a major conspiracy behind Anto’s allegations. They are trying to tarnish the Chief Minister’s image by forging documents and forcing his resignation. We want to know who is behind this larger plan,” Raju P. Nair told South First.
However, after the controversy and subsequent police action, Augustine appeared to distance himself from the allegation.
When questioned by journalists about the issue on Thursday, September 16, Augustine said he had nothing to say regarding the allegations.
Interestingly, the police action came on the same day that multiple raids were conducted at premises linked to Augustine and his brother in connection with an investigation into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the proposed Messi event.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
Also Read: Messi event fiasco probe: SIT carries out 4 am raids at Reporter TV, Augustine brothers’ homes
