Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi appeared before the Crime Branch on Thursday on the directions of the Kerala High Court in the case filed against him for allegedly forging the documents related to registering his luxury car in Puducherry.
The court’s move came after he filed an appeal for anticipatory bail in the case.
The actor-MP had reportedly registered his Audi Q7 in Puducherry by paying only Rs 1.5 lakh as road tax. Registering a luxury car in Kerala will cost the owner anywhere around Rs 14 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.
The Crime Branch of the Kerala police had, on December 1, registered a criminal case against him, under the guidance of the Transport Commissioner Anil Kant.
Suresh was also charged for not paying a fine for overspeeding. It is also reportedly the first time in Kerala that a case for evading tax is registered against a Rajya Sabha MP.
The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has filed separate case against actor Fahadh Faasil in connection with registering his vehicle in Puducherry using fake documents.
When the MVD sought the details of this, Fahadh replied that he is not using the vehicle in the state. However, further investigation revealed that the vehicle is being used in Ernakulam. Alappuzha RTO Shibu K Itty recommended the Crime Branch to register a case against the actor and also directed him to remit the tax, Mathrubhumi reported.
After the tax-evasion case stirred p controversy in the state, Fahadh paid a tax amount of Rs 17.68 lakh to the Motor Vehicles Department. The actor was accused of tax evasion after an investigation by Mathrubhumi News revealed that he had paid only Rs 1.5 lakh as tax, as opposed to the Rs 14 lakh he would have had to pay had he registered his SUV in Kerala.