The Kerala High Court, which is hearing the anticipatory bail plea of Dileep in connection with alleged threats to police officers, said that the matter has been posted for hearing on Friday, January 14. The actor, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the 2017 actor abduction and sexual assault case, had on Monday moved the High Court seeking anticipatory bail in the fresh case.
The case was heard on Monday by Justice P Gopinath. The counsel appearing for Dileep sought additional time, stating that senior advocate B Raman Pillai wished to appear for the actor, but was unwell. Sources told TNM that the advocate has tested positive for COVID-19.
Dileep, his brother P Sivakumar and brother-in-law TN Suraj had approached the court after a non-bailable case was registered against them by the Crime Branch of Kerala Police. The FIR was filed after an audio clip in which a voice, which reportedly belongs to Suraj, is heard talking about an alleged conspiracy to murder Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Baiju Paulose, who is also the investigating officer in the case.
The Kerala government had soon formed a new investigation team for the case, headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Sreejith, in which KP Philp, Inspector General (IG) of Crime Branch will be a part of the investigation. Baiju Paulose, against whom the alleged threatening audio came out, will continue as the investigating official.
The said case was registered after a series of audio clips, allegedly involving Dileep, surfaced on Malayalam news channels. The clips, released on the channel ReporterLive, show a man, who is allegedly Dileep, saying, “All five officials, you watch what you’re going to get.”
(With inputs from Bar and Bench.)