THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Crime Branch team probing the death of musician Balabhaskar on Tuesday filed an application in a court in Kochi seeking the custody of gold smuggling accused Prakash Thampi and Vishnu Somasundaram, former associates of the late musician, for interrogation. The team approached the court in Kochi which deals with financial crimes. Prakash and Vishnu are presently in the custody of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in connection with the gold smuggling case.
The duo will be taken into custody for interrogation after the relatives of Balabhaskar raised doubts over their alleged involvement in the death of the violinist. On Tuesday, the sleuths recorded the statements of Balabhaskar’s wife Lakshmi, friend Nandu and Balabhaskar’s mother-in-law. According to Crime Branch DySP Harikrishnan, the application for custody has been filed in the court and the accused will be taken into custody once the court grants permission.
“The probe is progressing and we will record the statements of Balabhaskar’s relatives. Since the statements from many seem to be contradictory, we need to verify all the statements once again. However, we are weighing all options,” he told ‘Express.’ While recording the statement, Lakshmi stuck to her stand that Arjun was at the wheel when the accident occurred. She told the police that she was sitting in the front seat and her kid was on her lap. Balabhaskar was sitting in the back seat. She also said that Prakash and Vishnu were part of the team of Balabhaskar. However, she reiterated that Prakash was not the manager of Balabhaskar’s band.
Nandu was Balabhaskar’s friend who was involved in the rescue operation after the accident. The Crime Branch recorded his statements to know about any unusual sight at the spot soon after the accident. Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has asked Kalabhavan Soby to reach Thiruvananthapuram to record his statement as he had revealed earlier that he had seen some unusual scenes soon after the accident at Mangalapuram. The DRI had arrested Prakash and Vishnu following the seizure of 25 kg of gold from a passenger at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on May 15.