THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI has found that Kalabhavan Soby George's claim that he saw members of a gold smuggling team at the spot where violinist Balabhaskar died in an accident was false. It also found that Balabhaskar’s driver Arjun had driven the car during the accident, contrary to the latter's claim that it was the violinist behind the wheels. The details were revealed after a lie detection test conducted by the CBI in Kochi.
Soby had made a sensational claim alleging the involvement of a gold smuggling gang in the accident. He said the gang members broke the window pane of the car before the accident. The CBI which took over the case conducted the polygraph test to ascertain the claims. The investigating agency which took over the case in July had expressed doubts over the claims of Soby.
Prakshan Thampy, Vishnu Somasundaram, Arjun, who was driving the car involved in the accident, and Kalabhavan Soby George were subjected to the test. However, CBI officers said Soby did not cooperate in all stages of the test. Though he cooperated with the layered voice test, he showed reluctance in the polygraph test.
Balabhaskar and his daughter Thejaswi Bala were killed in a car crash on the outskirts of the capital on September 25, 2018. C K Unni, father of Balabhaskar, demanded the CBI probe as he suspected the involvement of Thampy and Vishnu Somasundaram in the deaths. The duo were later arrested in connection with the seizure of 25 kg of smuggled gold at Trivandrum airport in May.