The Crime Branch (CB) on Tuesday recorded the statement of director Balachandrakumar in connection with the case registered against actor Dileep and five others for allegedly planning to endanger the police officers associated with the investigation of the actor assault case in which Dileep is an accused.
The CB team, led by the investigation officer M. P. Mohanachandran Nair, recorded the statement at the CB office at Kalamassery in Kochi. The statement recording, which started in the morning, continued well past afternoon. The team is learnt to have examined in detail the audio clip handed by Mr. Balanchandrakumar in this regard.
“The next course of action in the case will be decided after finalising the statement,” said investigation sources.
The CB had on Sunday registered the case against Dileep and five others based on a statement by Mr. Balachandrakumar that the actor had threatened to endanger police officers who were investigating the 2017 case of sexual assault on a woman actor in which Dileep was arraigned as the eighth accused. Apart from Dileep, his brother Anoop, brother-in-law Sooraj, Appu, and Babu Chengamanad and an unidentified person are accused. Following this, Dileep had on Monday moved the High Court for anticipatory bail. The CB has made it clear that it will oppose it whenever it comes up for hearing.
The registration of the case had come close on the heels of revelations, including the alleged plans to endanger police officers, made by director Balachandrakumar that implicate Dileep, following which a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Crime Branch ADGP S. Sreejith was constituted to investigate them.
The First Information Report (FIR) in the new case was registered on the complaint of DySP Baiju Paulose, who is the investigation officer in the case. The FIR was submitted before the Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Monday.
The case has been registered under Sections 506, 34, 120, 118 of the IPC that cover provisions including criminal intimidation, common intention to carry out a crime and conspiracy. An audio clip handed over by Balachandrakumar to the investigation team reportedly has details of the conversation Dileep had with the five others in which there is a threat to harm Mr. Paulose in a lorry accident.
The FIR says the actor spoke of endangering the lives of five police officials — A.V. George (whose visual the actor showed on YouTube, as per Mr. Balachandrakumar), Sojan, Sudarshan, Sandhya and Mr. Paulose. Dileep’s brother-in-law also hinted at “deploying a lorry to endanger Mr. Paulose, for which the expense would come to ₹1.5 crore.”
