Messi match row: Kerala police raid TV channel office, 4 other locations - The Indian Express

A special investigation team of the Kerala Police on Wednesday raided five premises — including the office of Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), which operates Reporter TV — in connection with a cheating case over the company’s failure to bring the Argentina football team, led by its former captain Lionel Messi, to Kochi for an international match last year. RBC was the sponsor of the proposed event.

The issue has become a political flashpoint in the state, with the Opposition framing it as an assault on the free press. The event was expected to be held late last year.

This comes a day after the Kochi City Police registered an FIR against Reporter TV managing director Anto Augustine and RBC on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating in connection with the alleged attempt to bring Messi to Kerala for the proposed match, which had generated much hype. After the Congress-led government came to office, the Sports Department examined RBC’s claim and allegedly found financial misappropriation and tax evasion under the guise of the event.

The FIR, registered based on an intimation from the SIT, named Reporter TV managing director and editor Anto Augustine as the first accused and RBC as the second accused. The FIR was registered under sections for cheating by personation, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and criminal conspiracy.

A day after the FIR was registered, police raided the houses of Anto and his brothers in Kochi and Wayanad, as well as the office of RBC, which runs Reporter TV.

The FIR alleged that Anto and others entered into a criminal conspiracy before December 2024 and fabricated agreements with the Argentina Football Association, leading to the Kerala government being allegedly cheated. The FIR also alleged that the suspects made unlawful gains from the deal and induced the government to hand over the international stadium in Kochi to the channel.

The raid on Wednesday morning was telecast live. Although channel journalists claimed that their telecast was disrupted due to police excesses at its studio, the police denied the allegation.

ADGP P Vijayan told the media: “After the SIT was formed, we had ordered a preliminary probe. We had collected the reports from the sports department and collected necessary statements. As we prima facie believe there is a cognizable offence in the matter, an FIR was registered and a search warrant secured from the magistrate’s court. Anto Augustine is the first accused and RBC is the second accused. We have not disrupted the news telecast. We have not seized journalists’ mobile phones as alleged. We have also videographed the entire process,” he said.

Anto Augustine said they had cooperated with the probe. He also called it an attempt to silence the media.

“If the government had anything to ask about the football issue, they could have sought the details from me. The media was not handled like this even during the Emergency. Why did they raid the news desk and take custody of the phones of journalists? When journalists bring news to me, should we take the consent from V D Satheesan or the Home Minister (Ramesh Chennithala?” he asked.

Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the raid, calling it “reminiscent of the emergency days”.

“What has happened in Kerala is similar to the attacks on the media in BJP-ruled states. The action here is similar to the raids on the Newsclick office, during which equipment was seized, and the editor was jailed,” the former chief minister said. “Kerala will not accept this assault aimed at silencing the media. The Chief Minister and the Home Minister must answer for this attack on the media. We strongly condemn this disgraceful assault on press freedom.”

As criticism of the raids rose from various media organisations and the Opposition, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said they were part of the police investigation. On the Opposition’s allegations of a media crackdown, Satheesan alleged that the Vijayan-led Left Democratic Alliance had also seen similar actions.

“The functioning of the TV channel was not disrupted. I had watched the raid news on the Reporter TV itself. I had seen the statement of Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan. During his term as the chief Minister, several media houses have been raided and media persons arrested. In 2017, Mangalam TV was raided and five journalists, including its CEO, were arrested. In 2023, the Asianet TV office in Kozhikode was raided, and a case was registered. Should I continue? I don’t want to list all incidents,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Anto Augustine and his brothers Roji and Josekutty have been embroiled in a controversy. Originally from Wayanad, the three brothers previously found their names linked to the Muttil tree-felling case, which involved the alleged illegal felling and removal of protected trees from assigned land in Muttil, South Wayanad. The case came to the fore in June 2021 — a month after the then-new LDF government took power in the state.

The land on which the trees were allegedly felled belonged to the government and was assigned to farmers and tribals of Wayanad. The issue became a political flashpoint in the state, with the then Congress-led Opposition flagging it in the Assembly. Police registered 43 cases against the brothers and arrested them in July 2021 on charges of cheating, forgery and theft in connection. They were later granted bail.

Meanwhile, the forest department also initiated proceedings against them under various sections of the Kerala Forest Act, 1961, the Kerala Forest Produce Transit Rules, 1975, and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

In 2021, Kochi city police registered another case against Anto and his brothers on charges of criminal breach of trust and cheating after a timber dealer alleged that the brothers had cheated him of Rs 1.4 crore. It later allegedly was found that the promised timber was from illegally felled trees. The case is pending before a magistrate court in Ernakulam.

Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India. Expertise, Experience, and Authority Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes: Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration. Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules. Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. ... Read More