KOCHI: The crime branch team probing the case of the alleged threat to harm the officers who investigated the 2017 actor abduction and assault case is examining the veracity of the audio clips reportedly of actor Dileep.
The agency registered the case on January 9 on a complaint filed by the investigating officer, crime branch DySP Baiju Paulose, based on a purported audio clip of Dileep, which was released by a TV channel in which the actor was allegedly heard conspiring to endanger the lives of the officials. Officers said a scientific analysis of the said voice clips will be conducted.
“Before this, we are carrying out a probe to identify the persons whose voices are in the clips. We are checking with the people who generally have contact with these persons,” said crime branch SP M P Mohanachandran.
Earlier, in the affidavit filed by Dileep before the Kerala High Court, he said the digital evidence claimed are fragments of speech or broken words whose time of recording, sequence of recording and manner of recording are unknown. Director P Balachandrakumar stated that he had intermittently recorded conversations that took place on November 15, 2017. Balachandrakumar is relying on 18 voice clips but there is no mention about the device used by him. No normal person would record voice clips like this, that too in a meeting of persons known to each other, said the document filed by the actor.
Balachandrakumar revealed that on seeing the old visuals of his arrest on YouTube, Dileep said that five police officers would face the consequences. The investigation team summoned directors Rafi, Arun Gopi and manager of Dileep’s production company Grand Productions to the crime branch office on Monday. According to the SP, they were summoned to verify the voices and audio clips.
Rafi, who refused to comment about the interrogation, told reporters that Dileep was interested in doing a film with Balachandrakumar and that he had come to know that the director had dropped that project only recently. Dileep had alleged that Balachandrakumar had collected Rs 10 lakh from him from 2014 in the name of the project.
Like on Sunday, the interrogation of Dileep and five others continued for about 10 hours for the second consecutive day at the crime branch office at Kalamassery. Apart from the actor, his brother Anoop, brother-in-law T N Suraj, his driver Appu, alias Krishnadas, and friend Byju Chengamanad are those being interrogated. Another accused is an unnamed person.
The questioning was led by a team headed by Mohanachandran. Dileep and others left the office by around 8pm. On Sunday also, the actor and the others left the crime branch office after an 11-hour-long interrogation, by 9pm. The interrogation will continue on Tuesday too.
Statement of Pulsar Suni’s mother recorded
Kochi: The Aluva judicial first class magistrate court on Monday recorded the statement of the mother of Pulsar Suni, the first accused in the actor assault case. The statement of Shobana was recorded after the prosecution filed a plea for it. Earlier in the day, she visited Suni in the Ernakulam sub jail. “My son is ready to confess. He has been trapped in the case and is feeling guilty now,” she told reporters after meeting Suni.
State seeks more time to examine witnesses
Kochi: The state government on Monday approached the High Court seeking to extend the deadline for finishing examination of witnesses in the 2017 actor assault case. The court, while allowing the prosecution to examine five additional witnesses on January 27, had said the examination and production of documents should be wrapped up within 10 days. However, the government on Monday sought extension of the deadline until further investigation by the crime branch against actor Dileep and five other in a related case was over. The state said it was not sure whether the agency would be able to serve summons to all the witnesses. It said two witnesses were from other states.