THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The chief judicial magistrate court in Thiruvananthapuram has rejected the petitions seeking an extended CBI probe into the death of violinist Balabhaskar. The petitions were filed by the late musician’s parents and artist Kalabhavan Sobi, who had alleged that there was a conspiracy behind his death.
The court accepted the CBI’s findings that Balabhaskar’s was a road accident death. It also pointed out that the petitioners could not produce any evidence to buttress their allegations. They had moved the court after the CBI team filed its report upholding the crime branch findings that Balabhaskar died in a road accident and there was nothing sinister behind the incident.
The petitioners had alleged that the CBI overlooked vital evidence and ignored key witnesses which resulted in the sabotage of the probe. Meanwhile, the court directed Balabhaskar’s driver Arjun, who drove the car on the day of the accident, to appear in person on October 1. The conflicting statements on the identity of the person who drove the vehicle on the day of the accident had cast doubts in the minds of the musician’s parents.
Balabhaskar’s wife Lakshmi and the eyewitnesses had said it was Arjun who drove the vehicle. But he rejected the claim saying the violinist himself was behind the wheels when the mishap occurred near Pallipuram on September 25, 2019. The parents also alleged that Balabhaskar had financial dealings with some of the suspects in the case, and it could have been one of the reasons for staging an accident to do away with him. The CBI had found that it was Arjun who drove the vehicle on the day of the accident.