The Kerala High Court on Thursday, 17 March, denied the plea to stay the crime branch probe against Malayalam actor Dileep and others in the new conspiracy case levelled against them. The case pertains to an alleged attempt to kill and threaten police officials who were investigating the 2017 actress sexual assault case against Dileep.
"The investigation cannot be stayed," Justice K Haripal stated after Dileep’s lawyer and those of the other accused sought a stay on the probe till HC heard and decided on the actor's plea to quash the case or transfer the same to CBI, news agency PTI reported.
Dileep had argued in the court that the crime branch had levelled "false and fabricated" allegations of destruction of evidence against them and their lawyers.
Senior advocate B Raman Pillai and advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, who have been appearing for the actor and the other accused, had sought a stay on the probe when the Kerala High Court said that the case required detailed hearing, after the court's summer vacation from 11 April to 17 May.
The lawyers then sought an earlier date for hearing, stating that the matter was urgent. The court then granted the same and has listed the matter on 28 March for final arguments.
The Case
In February 2017, a popular Malayalam actor was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in a moving car in Kerala's Kochi. The trial was nearing completion in December 2021 when startling allegations against Dileep, the prime accused in the case, surfaced, sending the investigation into a new direction.
A criminal conspiracy case was registered against Dileep, on 21 January 2022, after several audio clips came to light, in which the actor and one of his relatives allegedly appear to be conspiring to kill six police officials who were investigating the case.
The police, on 20 January, had filed a 68-page statement opposing the anticipatory bail plea filed by the actor in the Kerala High Court after he was booked in the new criminal conspiracy case. The crime branch said in its statement that for the first time in the state's history, there has been a “criminal conspiracy to harm even the life of investigating officers.”
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)