A court in Thrissur, Kerala on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of controversial businessman Muhammad Nisham, nicknamed Ferrari Dad, who had murdered a security guard of a villa complex by ramming his Hummer SUV into him.

The Additional District and Sessions Court (1) rejected Nisham’s bail plea on the basis of the police’s statement that the accused had close connections with influential politicians and could influence witnesses if released on bail. The judge accepted the police’s argument that Nisham had used these connections to settle several of the 12 cases he had faced.

The police told the court that Nisham had been charged with murder after the security guard, Chandrabose (48), succumbed to the injuries he suffered in Nisham’s attack. They had also submitted before the judge the relevant parts of the post-mortem report which proved the brutality with which Nisham had attacked Chandrabose.

Nisham, owner of Thirunalveli-based Kings Beedi Company and a tobacco supplier, had attacked the security guard of the posh Sobha City villa complex at Puzhakkal near Thrissur on the early morning of January 29 first by beating him up at the complex’s entrance, then ramming his Hummer into him and manhandling him again at a parking lot inside the complex.

Chandrabose succumbed to injuries on February 16. The post-mortem report said there were several fractures in his ribs and almost all the internal organs had been ruptured.

It also said that the guard had died due to internal hemorrhage and collapse of internal organs. The fact that his stomach and liver had got totally mashed up proved the brutality of Nisham’s act.

At the same time, the police have started searching for Amal, Nisham’s wife, who was in the parking lot at Sobha City where the businessman had beaten up Chandrabose. Nisham had called up his wife from the parking lot asking her to bring his pistol.

However, she had not brought the pistol but the police have so far not been able to find such a weapon in Nisham’s apartment at Sobha City. Amal, a valuable eyewitness to the incident if not an accomplice, had gone missing after the incident.

The video Nisham had posted on YouTube of his nine-year-old son driving a Ferrari in 2013 was captured by Amal. Nisham had earned the nickname Ferrari Dad after he allowed the minor boy to drive the race car. Amal had then proudly stated that their son could drive even lamborghinis and Bentleys.

Meanwhile, Upa lokayukta KP Balachandran on Wednesday suo moto registered a case against a Circle Inspector of Police after controversy erupted over the failure of the police to record the victim’s statement when he was conscious. A doctor at the private Amala Hospital where Chandrabose was admitted had said that there were times when his statement could be recorded.