THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The family of slain journalist Basheer will get justice, assured Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, adding that there need be no doubt on that account.
The minister was referring to the tragic accident that occurred in early hours of 3 Aug, 2019 when journalist M Basheer was killed after a car driven by IAS officer Sriram Venkataraman accompanied by his female companion, hit him fatally while standing by the sidewalk speaking on cell phone.
The govt will provide no help to the guilty howsoever highly placed the official might be, the minister affirmed. Law will take its due course, said CM in a question raised during a press meet held in the capital. The govt had made it known earlier, there would be no support to guilty individuals. That is for certain. There is no hurdle whatsoever for witnesses to come forward and testify, the minister added
Fielding a question on beverages, CM pointed out that closing of beverage outlets could have severe social consequences. This is reason why govt refrains calling closure in that segment, the minister said. To drive home the point, CM read out Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s circular including beverages into the list of essential commodities.
We have lessons from past experiences in front of us, a reason why the govt is reluctant to think otherwise. However, bars have been shutdown and timings at beverage outlets too have been shrunk, CM told the media.
