KOCHI: The police on Friday revealed that the person who stabbed an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Elamakkara police station after being caught for stealing a bike at Edappally was an accused-turned-approver in the actor abduction and rape case in which film star Dileep is an accused. Vishnu Aravind, a native of Kalamassery, was arrested while fleeing after stabbing ASI Girish Kumar of Elamakkara station on Wednesday.
According to police, Vishnu was the tenth accused in the actor abduction case. He was made an approver after he promised to disclose all details regarding the crime. Vishnu befriended the first accused, Sunil Kumar, alias Pulsar Suni, at the District Jail in Kakkanad in 2017. It was Vishnu who provided a mobile phone and SIM card to Suni inside the jail.
Similarly, Suni had tasked Vishnu with handing over a letter to Dileep through the star’s manager. Though Vishnu tried to meet Dileep’s manager, he failed. The letter was later seized by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and became a crucial evidence against Dileep. During the trial, he did not turn up for witness examination. Later, he was arrested and produced in the court.
Kochi City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju said that Vishnu had been involved in 18 criminal cases. “In some cases, he was convicted and in some other cases, he had got bail. We are pursuing the cases against him,” Nagaraju said. The police are examining the possibility of invoking provisions of Kerala Anti-Social Activities Prevention Act (KAAPA) against Vishnu considering the large number of criminal cases registered against him. After invoking KAAPA, Vishnu would either be in preventive detention for six months or banned from entering the district for six months.
Meanwhile, the statement of movie director P Balachandrakumar who levelled serious allegations against Dileep will be recorded under Section 164 of CrPC on January 12. A notice has been issued to Balachandrakumar to appear before the Ernakulam Judicial First Class Magistrate for recording his statement.
Balachandrakumar had recently alleged that Dileep watched the video of the sexual assault on the actress in a moving vehicle at his house and that the star knew Pulsar Suni well. The SIT is carrying out a fresh investigation based on his revelations. The SIT probe is being supervised by ADGP S Sreejith.