The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case of suspicious death of famous violinist Balabhaskar and his 18-month-old daughter in a car accident at Pallipuram in Kerala in September 2018.
In a petition to the Kerala Chief Minister last year, the violinist's parents alleged that the suspects in the case were linked to gold smuggling and that there were suspicious financial transactions in his bank account after his death.
Subsequently, in December 2019, the State government referred the case to the CBI for further probe.
The accident took place in the early hours of September 25, 2018, when Balabhaskar, a famous violinist from Thiruvananthapuram, his wife Lekshmi and their daughter Tejaswni Bala were on their way back from Thrissur. Their car hit a roadside tree due to “rash” driving by accused Arjun K. Narayanan.
Tejaswni succumbed to the injuries, while the others were rushed to hospital. The violinist died on October 2, 2018. Neither the local police nor the Crime Branch filed any final report in the case, according to the FIR.
Meanwhile, the CBI told its Special Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday that the parents of the musician were deeply sceptical about the conclusion of the Kerala police that Balabhaskar and Tejaswini had died in a typical road accident. The police had also ruled out the question of foul play.
The Kerala police had said in a court filing in November 2019 that the accident occurred when Arjun, who was at the wheel, nodded off.
The car veered hard to the extreme right of the carriageway and dashed against a tree abutting the road. The family was headed home from Thrissur and the long night drive had fatigued the driver and the passengers, the State police had said.
However, Arjun’s subsequent insistence that Balabhaskar was at the wheel at the time of the accident added an element of murkiness to the incident.
Contradictory statements
Eyewitness statements by passers-by were also contradictory and often misleading. Moreover, the musician's immense popularity as a youth icon had spawned countless conspiracy theories.
The parents of Balabhaskar in the petition to the Chief Minister pointed out that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had booked two of the musician's aides, both part of Balabhaskar's entourage when he travelled abroad for stage programmes, on the charge of having smuggled gold in bulk through the international airport here in early 2018.
The agency had also named a senior customs official as accused in the case.
The CBI said the parents of the musician wanted it to investigate whether Arjun had any link with gold smuggling.
They also wanted the agency to scrutinise Balabhaskar's financial dealings and examine fellow investors to find out whether anybody inimical to the violinist had orchestrated the accident.
Officials said the CBI was poised to reconstruct the accident. It would also re-examine the fingerprints, and serological evidence lifted from the scene of the collision.
The agency would try to find out whether the car was travelling above the legal speed limit when the crash occurred and whether the passengers had engaged seat belts and if the safety mechanisms, including airbags, had correctly deployed.
The CBI would also have to re-question persons already interviewed by the Kerala police and search for new evidence and witnesses if any.
(With inputs from G. Anand in Thiruvananthapuram)
