A. K. Saseendran


A. K. Saseendran is an Indian Politician serving as the Transport Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan ministry. He had resigned on 26 March 2017 over a sexual harassment allegation but returned as minister on 1 February 2018 after getting acquitted in the case. He belongs to Nationalist Congress Party and represents Elathur constituency. He was previously elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1980, 1982, 2006 and 2011.

Positions held

He is the son of K. Kunhambu and M. K. Janaki. He was born in Kannur on 29 January 1946. He is married to Anitha Krishnan and has one son Varun Sasindran. He resides at Mele Chovva, Kannur.

Controversy

On 26 March 2017, Saseendran resigned as minister after a newly launched malayalam television channel, Mangalam TV, aired a telephonic audio clip in which he is allegedly heard speaking in a sexually explicit way to a person, whom the channel claimed was a housewife.
Later, the channel CEO apologised and admitted that it was a sting operation done using a woman journalist of the channel after having denied it earlier.
On April 4, the CEO and four mediapersons of the channel were arrested by the police for airing “obscene conversation” and criminal conspiracy.
Later, Saseendran was acquitted in the case after the complainant, who had earlier alleged sexual harassment turned hostile in court and he returned as minister. Saseendran was the second Minister to resign from the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet.