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Kerala crime branch interrogates Malayalam actor Dileep, four others
The crime branch registered a fresh case against Dileep and others two weeks back following the disclosure of director Balachandra Kumar that the accused assembled at the house of the actor in November 2017 and hatched a conspiracy to kill police officers involved with the probe.
A day after the Kerala High Court stalled his arrest till January 27, Malayalam actor Dileep and four other accused appeared before the crime branch in Kochi on Sunday for questioning in connection with an alleged plot to kill police officers who investigated the actor abduction and assault case.
Dileep reached the crime branch office in Kalamassery around 8.50 am and a senior officer said the questioning session will be recorded to avoid further charges in the high-profile case. The court had asked him to appear before the investigating team for three consecutive days. It also directed officials to file a report on the interrogation in a sealed cover by Thursday and asked all accused to co-operate with the investigation fully.
The crime branch registered a fresh case against Dileep and others two weeks back following the disclosure of director Balachandra Kumar that the accused assembled at the house of the actor in November 2017 and hatched a conspiracy to kill police officers involved with the probe. The actor, who is the seventh accused in the actor abduction and assault case, and others, moved the court for anticipatory bail after a fresh case was registered against them.
After the director’s revelations, the Kerala government also approached the Supreme Court two weeks back with a plea to extend the trial for six more months. The new FIR was filed against Dileep, his brother Anoop, another relative Suraj, and two others (Appu and Babu) and they were charged under Indian Penal Code sections 116 (abetment of offence), 118 (concealing design to commit an offence), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Kumar, a former friend of the actor, claimed last month that he was in possession of the video of the assault on the woman actor and that the accused had tried to influence many witnesses in the case. He also alleged that he had met the main accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, at the residence of actor Dileep in 2016 when he had gone there to discuss a film project. Later, the prosecution recorded his statement under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
A leading woman actor was waylaid, kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a criminal gang in Kochi while she was returning home after a shooting assignment in 2017. Six months after the incident Dileep was arrested and made an accused in the case.
The prosecution alleged that the attack was planned at the behest of Dileep to settle an old score with the woman actor. In four years, the high-profile case witnessed many twists and turns. While opposing his bail plea, the prosecution on Saturday said he was the first in the country to give a contract to rape a fellow actor with whom he had some disagreements.
