In the light of new developments in the actor assault case in Kerala, in which actor Dileep is an accused, the Kerala government on Thursday, January 6, constituted a new team to investigate the case. The state government said that Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Sreejith will head the team and Inspector General (IG), Crime Branch, KP Philip will also be part of it. Philip was added to the team as IG Dinedra Kashyap was relieved on central deputation.
Besides this, the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Nedumbassery police station will also be part of the team. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Baiju Paulose however, will continue as the investigation officer. According to reports, Crime Branch SP KS Sudarsan and MJ Sojan will also be part of the team.
The new team has been constituted in view of senior police official B Sandhya, who was earlier heading the probe into the case, took over as the head of the Kerala Fire Force. The government’s move comes in light of the various allegations made recently by film director Balachandrakumar in connection with the case. Just earlier this week, the state filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking an extension of six months to complete the trial in the case.
Balachandrakumar raised several allegations but one of the prominent ones was that actor Dileep had watched the visuals of the assault before it was produced in the court, despite being an accused in the case. The director also said that he witnessed the close relationship between Dileep and the main accused in the case, Pulsar Suni.
Earlier this week, the survivor actor also wrote a letter to the state's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after Balachandrakumar's revelations came out. Stating that his allegations should be probed, she also pointed out that the Special Public Prosecutor in the case, VN Anilkumar quit, protesting the attitude of the High Court judge Honey Varghese. She asked the Chief Minister to appoint an SPP at the earliest.
The case pertains to the abduction and assault of the actor in a moving car in Kochi on February 17, 2017. Dileep was arrested in July 2017 in connection with the case, and spent several weeks in jail before securing bail. He has been named as a conspirator in the case.
Watch: TNM’s interview with Balachandrakumar.