THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI will take over the investigation of the car accident that claimed the lives of noted violinist Balabhaskar and his two-year-old daughter Tejaswini Bala. Acting on the request of Balabhaskar's father C R Unni, the state government issued the notification handing over the case to the premier agency.
The Crime Branch had earlier investigated the accident that occurred on September 25, 2018 near Pallippuram in the rural parts of the district. Though it was deemed as a road accident case, the Crime Branch took over the probe from the local police on the request of the violinist's father, who had aired several doubts regarding the incident.
After thoroughly perusing the case, the Crime Branch sleuths concluded that the accident was caused by overspeed and ruled out possibilities of any foul play.
Balabhaskar's father Unni had alleged that his son had some business dealings and the accident could have been stage-managed by a group comprising Arjun, who was at the wheels on the fateful day. After two of Balabhaskar's associates were arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in connection with gold smuggling, the suspicion raised by Unni grew thick.
The contradictions in the statements of Arjun and Lakshmi, wife of Balabhaskar who was travelling in the car, also made matters worse. While Lakshmi said Arjun was driving, the latter denied it and said the musician himself was at the wheels.
Later, the Crime Branch found that Lakshmi's statement was true.
However, Unni sticked to his stand and demanded CBI probe. The state police took a stand that they won't oppose the CBI probe if the government decides for that. It was in this context the case is being handed over to the Central agency.