The trial proceedings of the actor assault case in Kerala have been suspended till February 8 by a special court in Kochi. The decision was taken after one of the counsels of accused actor Dileep tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
All the scheduled trials till February 8 will be cancelled, after which the court will take a call on when to resume the trial.
In another development, Kasaragod resident Vipin Lal, who turned approver in the case, secured bail from the High Court on Wednesday. Vipin Lal, who was out of prison without securing a bail, had been summoned by the trial court recently. But he moved the High Court for bail, without deposing in the trial court.
Vipin Lal was the tenth accused in the case but turned approver, giving a confidential statement to the magistrate against Dileep, who is accused to have masterminded the abduction and assault of a leading woman actor in 2017.
Earlier, Vipin complained that after he turned approver the accused had allegedly tried to influence him to change his statement. Pradeep Kottathala, office secretary and close aide of Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and actor Ganesh Kumar, was arrested on November 24, accused of trying to influence and threaten Vipin Lal. Reportedly, Pradeep had accompanied Ganesh Kumar when he visited Dileep in jail in 2017.
Recently, Dileep’s counsel had moved the trial court for the arrest of Vipin Lal, stating that there were procedural lapses on letting him out of prison without a bail. Following this, the court summoned Vipin Lal. Though he secured bail from the HC, he was directed to depose in trial court on January 29. However, with the trial remaining suspended, this has also been postponed.