Dileep's lawyer files for bail; court sends him to police custody for 2 days
Mumbai: On Wednesday, Malayalam actor Dileep, who has been booked for conspiracy in the abduction and molestation of a renowned actress, was sent to police judicial custody for two days by the Angamaly Judicial Magistrate court. The police had requested three days custody for further questioning and gathering evidence, the court has granted permission for two days.
His lawyer, K Ramkumar, has filed an application for bail.
Malayalam actress abduction: Gangrape charge stares at Dileep
As per the remand report of police, Dileep has been booked under 10 sections that include conspiracy, gangrape and destruction of evidence. If the conspiracy charge {IPC section 120 (B)} is proved, he may get a life sentence. However, it is said that the other sections could be dropped by virtue of benefit of doubt if his conspiracy charges are not proved before the court of law.
Police officers involved in this case are digging deeper to gather more evidence and find out if others were part of it. Mukesh, one of the AMMA members and a Left-backed MLA, may also be questioned and further arrests are highly likely to happen.
Members from the film industry, who had supported the actor earlier, have also started giving him the cold shoulder and are no longer showing solidarity with him.
Malayalam actress abduction: Cops arrest Dileep on conspiracy charges
The 48-year-old actor, who is often regarded as the third biggest actor Malayalam film industry has ever produced, after Mamooty and Mohan Lal, reportedly said the morning before his arrest that he was innocent.
“I am innocent and I will prove my innocence. I was trapped,” said Dileep. On Monday evening, he was was arrested after multiple rounds of questioning at an undisclosed location.
On February 17, the actress was abducted and molested by unidentified men when she was returning home from a shoot in Ernakulam district in Kerala.
The incident took place when the men stopped and hijacked her car near Athani in Angamaly. The actress was molested in a moving car till they reached Palarivattom, which is roughly 25 kms away. The accused men got down at Palarivattom and fled in another car.
The gang also took video and photos of the actress while threatening her of dire consequences inside the running car. The police have registered a case of kidnapping and molestation.
Last month, Dileep was questioned for close to 13 hours after the claimed that he and his director friend Nadirshah were being blackmailed for 1.5 Cr by the kidnappers that incuded Pulsar Suni, the main accused. On several occasions, Suni was reportedly spotted on the sets of Dileep’s films and the duo has reportedly known each other for years. Last week, Pulsar Suni told reporters, “A big shark will fall,” after his second jail sentence.
Police were reportedly informed that Suni was paid to attack the actress. Kerela police have also raided a boutique—Lakshya—owned by Dileep’s wife in search of criucial evidence after the main accused took the actor’s name in his confession.
On Monday evening, a hotel owned by the star in Kochi was attacked and ransacked by an angry mob.
