KOCHI: Malayalam actor Dileep will continue in jail as the Kerala High Court today dismissed his bail plea in the Malayalam actress assault case.
A single judge of the High Court dismissed the bail petition after recording the actor’s submission, saying that if he was released on bail, he would influence key witnesses, which in turn would hamper the police investigation into the conspiracy angle behind the crime.
The prosecution said crucial evidence in the case -- the mobile phone and the memory card used to record the obscene visuals of the actress -- have not been recovered so far.
Moreover, it argued, granting of bail to Dileep, in spite of sufficient evidence against him, will send a wrong message to the society.
Dileep is accused of being the principal conspirator behind the abduction and sexual assault of a prominent Malayalam actress in February. The prosecution claimed that it was his personal vendetta against the actress that led to him to conspire to against her.
Police said Dileep handed over a sum of Rs 10,000 to Pulsar Suni as advance to commit the crime. After that, an accounted money of Rs 1 lakh was credited to the savings bank account held by Suni’s mother.
Dileep was arrested on July 10 and was taken into police custody for five days. Police took him to various places, including Thrissur, Thoppumpady, Thodupuzha, and Kochi city to gather evidence.
In his bail petition, Dileep submitted that if bail was denied, it would ruin his film career as he had signed contracts with many producers for various upcoming movie projects.
He claimed that most of the 19 points cited by police to justify his arrest were unrelated to him. Eight of them were related to his driver, staff and other accused, Dileep claimed.
The actor is currently lodged in a jail in Aluva, his hometown.