KOCHI: Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko has been arrested by the Kochi city police in connection with a narcotics raid at a hotel in Kochi, where he allegedly fled the scene. A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, specifically for consumption of narcotic drugs, abetment, and criminal conspiracy.
According to a top police source, the actor is likely to be granted bail. In response to a police notice, Shine Tom Chacko appeared for interrogation at the Ernakulam town north police station on Saturday morning, arriving 30 minutes ahead of schedule. He declined to comment to reporters upon arrival.
The police had initially summoned him to appear at 10.30 am, but he arrived at the station by 10 am, accompanied by his lawyers. Following his arrival, interrogation in the presence of two Assistant Commissioners began. Police have also obtained his phone records from the past months as part of the interrogation.
The ongoing interrogation is based on a detailed questionnaire of around 32 questions which were prepared by the police in connection with the incident.
Police sources stated that, during the interrogation, Shine stated that he did not realise it was the police who had knocked on his hotel room door during the narcotic raid in Kochi, and that he fled out of fear, mistaking them for individuals intending to harm him.
Meanwhile, Shine appeared before the police in response to a formal notice asking him to explain his actions.
The notice was served after officers visited his residence in Thrissur, after failing to reach him by phone. Since the actor was not home at the time, his father, C P Chacko, accepted the notice on his behalf.