KOCHI: Arjun K Narayanan’s recent arrest in the Perinthalmanna gold heist case has exposed the criminal antecedents of late musician Balabhaskar’s driver.
Yet, the CBI’s probe into the car accident that killed Balabhaskar in 2018 does not link the incident to Arjun’s involvement in gold-smuggling activities.
A report issued by the central investigation agency says that both Balabhaskar and his wife Lekshmi were aware of Arjun’s troubled past. And Balabhaskar brought Arjun to Thiruvananthapuram and secured him a job in an effort to help the latter mend his ways.
The findings, while highlighting Arjun’s dubious background, dismiss any conspiracy or smuggling racket links to the death of Balabhaskar.
However, in her deposition before the CBI, Lekshmi had said, “My husband brought Arjun to Thiruvananthapuram to employ him as a driver. It was then that I came to know that Arjun was involved in an ATM theft case registered with Cherpulassery police, and, as such, I opposed his appointment. However, Balu rejected my request saying Arjun is a good guy who is on the path to correcting himself.”
She added, “Although Arjun initially accepted that he was driving the car at the time of the accident, he changed his version on being discharged from hospital. It’s not true that Balu was then in the driver’s seat. I have now come to know that Arjun filed a petition before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), in Thrissur, seeking compensation for being in the car that according to him my husband drove.”
Balabhaskar’s family says the investigating officer should have considered Arjun’s motive in repeatedly issuing contradictory statements despite scientific evidence rejecting his version. The CBI failed miserably to investigate the involvement of Arjun, they told TNIE.
Released by the trial court on October 16, the CBI’s additional investigation report, a copy of which is with TNIE, says, “The investigation conducted so far revealed that Arjun K Narayanan has criminal antecedents and the fact was known to Balabhaskar. Lekshmi, Balabhaskar’s wife, was also aware of it.
Balabhaskar took him to Thiruvananthapuram and arranged a job for him, in an effort to make his a better person. The investigation so far conducted revealed that the accident was due to rash/negligent driving by Arjun. No conspiracy has come to light in this regard so far.”
While ordering a further CBI investigation, the High Court asked the agency to look into the criminal antecedents of Arjun and the links to gold smuggling rackets.
In its report, CBI’s inspector of police Saji Sankar A S says that Arjun became close to Balabhaskar through a common relative Latha.
Arjun had criminal antecedents and was an accused in five cases including two attempted ATM theft cases registered in 2016. Balabhaskar took Arjun into his care to help reform him, with the help of Vishnu Somasundaram, a friend of Prakash Thampi, who was Balabhasker’s manager.
According to the CBI, the statements of Latha, Lekshmi, Vishnu, Prakash Thampi, and others corroborate the facts.
Dismissing the CBI findings, T M Raman Kartha, counsel for K C Unni, father of Balabhaskar, said, “We will file a petition challenging the further investigation report. The second team of the CBI has not made any earnest effort to unearth the truth regarding the 20 questions put forward by the HC. The links to the gold-smuggling racket should be thoroughly inquired.”