KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday rejected the bail petition of actor Dileep, currently in judicial custody in the actress assault case.Denying bail to Dileep, the court said: “Definitely, the incident which happened on February 17 is very ‘serious’. A young actress was abducted on the busy National Highway, driven around through the city streets for about two-and-a-half hours, during which she was sexually assaulted and videographed,” the court said.
The victim had identified the first accused in the car itself. The second accused driver whose conduct appeared doubtful was arrested immediately after the incident. “The commission of the crime is so cruel and diabolic and liable to shake the conscience of society,” said the court.The order said prima facie there are materials to suspect the involvement of Dileep in the crime. The probe is at a crucial juncture. Terming the case as ‘unique’, the court said considering its seriousness, meticulous planning, cruel nature of execution and being a crime executed to wreak vengeance on a woman by engaging criminals to sexually abuse her. Hence, the court has to be circumspect in granting bail in such case.
Another reason cited for rejecting the bail was the crucial material evidence, the mobile phone used for recording the sexual assault and the memory card in which the video is stored, have not yet been recovered. “The memory card is a potential threat to the life of the victim and there is every possibility of any of the accused attempting to interfere in the investigation and the prosecution with the memory card,” the court said. The court feel it was too early at this stage to grant bail to Dileep, it said.
The petitioner, being a noted actor, is also involved in the distribution and production of films and is also an owner of a theatre. Definitely, he must be wielding considerable command on the industry. Hence, the possibility of the petitioner influencing or threatening several witnesses, who are also from the same industry, cannot be ruled out, said the court.