Kochi: Reporter TV Managing Director and Managing Editor Anto Augustine was arrested on Thursday in connection with a case pertaining to the alleged possession of an illegal quantity of alcohol at his residence in Wayanad. The arrest was registered at 5.01 am at the company's headquarters in Kalamassery, Kochi, following high drama involving the excise team.
Sections invoked in FIR
The FIR invokes Sections 55(a), 55(i) and 58 of the Kerala Abkari Act, 1077. According to the FIR, the liquor was allegedly found at Augustine’s residence in Muttil, Wayanad.
The case was registered after Kalpetta Excise Circle Inspector T. Sharafudheen and his team seized the liquor, according to the FIR.
Excise team walks in without FIR
In a bizarre turn of events, the Excise team — which came all the way from Wayanad, led by district Assistant Excise Commissioner (AEC) RL Baiju — walked into the Managing Director's cabin without a First Information Report (FIR) or a copy of it, moments after the Special Investigation Team probing the Messi event case exited his cabin at 2.36 am.
When asked to produce the FIR or a copy of it, the excise team failed to do so, and held the MD of Reporter TV in his cabin for over two hours, citing a technical error in sending the copy from Wayanad. Later, when the legal team and journalists raised objections, the team provided a copy of the FIR at 5.01 am. However, it was then revealed that the FIR had been registered only at 4.26 am.
Unlike the reportage of some needy news websites, no digital copy of the FIR was showed prior to the furnishing of the hard copy.
FIR registered at 4.26 am, after a delay of around two hours
The FIR, which was held off from 2.30 am, was only registered at 4.26 am when the journalists and the legal team protested the arrest without the provision of the document.The Excise team had to wait for over two hours to get the FIR copy, which was then sent to the phone of Wayanad AEC Baiju.
Detention without FIR
The case, 154/2026, was filed at the Kalpetta Excise Range Office on Thursday after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) raided the Wayanad residence and found a cache of liquor and wine exceeding the legally permitted limit.
After being informed by the police team, the Kalpetta Excise team took over the inspection of the liquor stash. The department seized over 50 litres of alcohol in total, including 43 litres of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and seven litres of wine.
According to the Kerala Abkari Act, an individual is permitted to possess at home, without a valid licence, up to 3 litres of IMFL and 3.5 litres of wine. Storing quantities above the legally permissible limit is a non-bailable offence, with illegal possession attracting hefty fines or a jail term.
