KOCHI: The crime branch on Friday gave an undertaking to the Kerala High Court that actor Dileep and other accused persons will not be arrested till January 18 in a case registered for allegedly conspiring to endanger police officers who were probing the 2017 actor abduction case.
When the bail pleas came up for hearing, Justice Gopinath P asked whether the new crime is entirely based on the revelations made by film director P Balachandrakumar? The prosecution replied that the case was registered based on his statement and the digital evidence produced by him. The court said, “I would like to see his statement so as to understand what are the allegations against the petitioners.”
The court orally stated, “I will pass an order not to arrest the petitioners till the next hearing.” Then, the Director- General of Prosecution assured the court that Dileep and others would not be arrested until then. Dileep and five men have been booked under Sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
The probe was initiated based on the disclosure of Balachandrakumar. Senior advocate B Raman Pillai, counsel for Dileep, informed the court that the police had raided the residence and production house as part of the probe on Thursday and the actor and his family members had been under house arrest till 8.30pm.
To this, the prosecution clarified that the search was carried out after obtaining a warrant from the court. The counsel for Dileep then asked, “What are they going to seize from me? If there is anything, it can be only with the other man, not with me.” The court will hear the bail pleas on January 18. P Sivakumar (Anoop), T N Suraj, B R Byju and R Krishnaprasad are the other accused persons who have filed the bail pleas.