Malayalam actor Dileep's 'selfie with cops' goes viral. Here's the truth

On FB and Twitter, the photograph was widely shared, and the police were criticised for clicking a selfie with an accused actor.
Malayalam actor Dileep's 'selfie with cops' goes viral. Here's the truth
Malayalam actor Dileep's 'selfie with cops' goes viral. Here's the truth
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Malayalam actor Dileep is dressed in a dark blue shirt and is standing in the midst of a crowd. Flanking him on either side are two police personnel, smiling to take a selfie on their mobile phone. 

Add to this the fact that Dileep was arrested by the Kerala police on Monday, in connection with the abduction and alleged sexual assault of a woman actor. This then paved the way for distortion and half-truths and a photograph taken four months ago, was shared on Facebook as "Custody Selfie”. 

When 33-year-old Arun Simon, a Civil Police Officer (CPO) attached to Irinjalakkuda police station in Thrissur, posted a selfie photograph with actor Dileep on his Facebook page a few months ago, little did he know that the actor would be arrested for a crime and that the photo would be misinterpreted. 

On Tuesday, minutes after Dileep was lodged in Aluva sub-jail, the photograph began to be circulated on social media, with the caption that cops were taking a photo with the accused actor in jail. 

On Facebook and Twitter, the photograph was widely shared, and the police were criticised for clicking a selfie with an accused actor.

Some users saw this as the "heights of selfie fever in Kerala", when the cops just couldn't resist taking a selfie while an accused- a popular actor- was being taken to jail. 

As the photo began to be circulated widely, CPO Arun was flooded with phone calls, asking for clarifications. On Tuesday, the policeman took to Facebook to clear the air about the photograph. 

"The selfie photo that is being circulated as 'Custody selfie' is fake. The photo was taken during the shooting of Georgettan's Pooram, when Dileep had visited Irinjalakkuda," CPO Arun Simon said. 

CPO Arun and his colleague had taken the selfie, on a day Dileep had visited a church in Irinjalakkuda for the shooting of his film. The two of them had been deployed at the location, since a huge crowd had gathered at the scene of the shooting. 

Speaking to The News Minute, he said that it was the growing resentment against Dileep following his arrest that had caused trouble for the cops. 

"Somehow, people want to establish that the police are hand in glove with Dileep. So, my selfie with the actor that was taken at least four months ago, was circulated under a false description. Since I had already posted this photo on Facebook when it was taken, most of my friends and colleagues had seen it earlier. Moreover, if you notice, you would see Dileep's caravan behind him. This shows that the photo was from a shooting location," CPO Arun said. 

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