Dileep’s police custody extended till tomorrow

Team Udayavani, Jul 14, 2017, 4:24 PM IST

Kochi : A court today extended till tomorrow the police custody of popular Malayalam actor Dileep, arrested in connection with the alleged abduction and assault of a South Indian actress.

The magistrate court in Angamalay granted police custody of the actor till 5 pm tomorrow, partly allowing a prosecution plea, when he was produced on expiry of the two-day custody granted on July 12. In its application, the prosecution sought police custody for three more days saying it was necessary for carrying out the investigation into the conspiracy in the case.

Police later took the actor, arrested on July 10, to the Aluva Police Club for interrogation. Initially the court had remanded the actor to 14 days judicial custody. “The prosecution has nothing to hide. We have all sufficient records and evidences with us. Custody (of the actor) is permitted. We will submit a report about the investigation in the court,” Special Prosecutor A Sureshan in the case told reporters.

Counsel for Dileep said the court would consider the actor’s bail application tomorrow. In the past two days, police had taken the actor to various places by police as part of evidence gathering.

Earlier, the 48-year-old actor, charged with criminal conspiracy in the sensational case, was brought to the court amid tight security. Police have claimed that the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and film the dastardly act was hatched by Dileep and ‘Pulsar’ Suni, the prime accused in the case. Dileep’s counsel has maintained that the actor had been framed in the case.

Police in its remand report had claimed that Dileep had developed a grudge against the actress for letting his former wife know about his alleged affairs and hatched a conspiracy to take revenge way back in 2013. The popular actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on February 17 and later escaped in a busy area here.

Six persons, including ‘Pulsar’ Suni, have been arrested in connection with the incident. After his arrest, on the charge of conspiracy, Dileep has been expelled from various film forums, including the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), as the industry rallied behind the actress. Breaking her silence, the actress had yesterday expressed hope that truth would come out in the case.