The Kerala police have questioned Balachandrakumar, a director and “friend” of Dileep, over new revelations in the Kerala female actor sexual assault case of 2017. TNM has learned that the police questioned Balachandrakumar twice and have taken his phone and audio clips he had in his possession.
Balachandrakumar had surfaced a few days ago, raising serious allegations against Dileep, including that Dileep had access to visuals of the sexual assault, even before he and his lawyers watched it at the magistrate’s chamber in 2017. The female actor’s sexual assault was recorded on video, and this is a crucial piece of evidence in the case.
Balachandrakumar had told the media that there was a “VIP” who allegedly showed the video to Dileep beforehand, and that the sound in the video was even enhanced by 20 times at a film studio.
Though Balachandrakumar and the police are tight-lipped about the investigation, sources told TNM that the police’s first priority is to identify the VIP.
While the prosecution has always maintained that Dileep has a copy of the visual of the sexual assault, Dileep’s version has been that he did not contact Pulsar Suni and therefore he never had the visual. Balachandrakumar has also in his possession certain audio clips in which a male voice can be heard speaking about the video, the trial, and about influencing a witness.
In an interview with TNM, he had said that when the “VIP” reached Dileep’s house on November 15, 2017, Dileep’s family member had rushed to the door, asking whether it is “Sharath”. “However, I am not sure if the person I nicknamed VIP is Sharath or someone else. Maybe they were expecting Sharath and another person came in. However they were referring to him as ‘ikka’, a term that means ‘brother’, used by Muslims. Therefore I assume that he may be a Muslim,” Balachandrakumar told TNM earlier.
Watch TNM's Dhanya Rajendran interview Balachandrakumar
Background
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 5 January, CBI special court judge Honey Verghese asked the police to submit the further investigation report by 20 January.
The source told TNM that based on the police’s findings, Dileep, his wife and actor Kavya Madhavan, who was a witness in the case, and Dileep’s brother Anoop, will be questioned.
Dileep has, interestingly, written to the Director General of Police, seeking the withdrawal of a petition that the police had submitted in court, asking for further investigation. He also accused DySP Baiju Paulose of introducing Balachandrakumar into the whole episode to level false allegations against him.
The police had asked for a stay on the trial until they conduct further investigations into Balachandrakumar’s allegations against Dileep.
Last week, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) VK Anilkumar, who had been representing the survivor for a year, handed in his resignation. Last year, SPP A Suresan had resigned as well, alleging that Judge Honey Verghese was biased in her approach.
Among the allegations that Balachandrakumar raised against Dileep, he said in an interview that Dileep knew Pulsar Suni, who is accused of abducting the survivor and sexually assaulting her. Balachandrakumar also alleged that Pulsar Suni had met Dileep at his home in 2016, months before the crime occurred.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute.)
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